[K-AI Challenge] ① "A Game Company Doing AI?... NC AI Optimizes AX with Multimodal Technology"

[Interview] Kensoo Kim, Head of NC AI Agentic AI Lab
"Research since 2011, aligned with vision and objectives"
"Enhancing industrial digital twin efficiency and advancing AI transformation"

"By leveraging technology that can instantly generate 3D models from images, we aim to reduce the cost of digital twins and accelerate the AI transformation of businesses, ultimately enhancing national competitiveness through improved industrial competitiveness."

Kensoo Kim, Head of NC AI Agentic AI Lab, is giving an interview on the development of the 'Proprietary AI Foundation Model' at NCSoft headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on the 7th. Provided by NC AI

On August 7 at NCSoft headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Kensoo Kim, Head of NC AI Agentic AI Lab, shared his determination in an interview with Asia Economy regarding the goals of the 'National AI' project: "We are committed to building a true sovereign AI so that domestic industries, where the AI transformation (AX) rate is still low, do not face difficulties in efficiency and productivity."

On August 4, NC's AI subsidiary, NC AI, was selected as one of the five elite teams for the government's 'Proprietary AI Foundation Model (Sovereign AI)' project, alongside Naver Cloud, Upstage, SK Telecom, and LG Management Development Institute AI Research Institute. While there was some skepticism about a game company developing sovereign AI, in reality, this recognition comes after 14 years of research that began in 2011. Kim noted, "I understand that there were quite a few organizations that did not consider us as competitors. However, the atmosphere changed after the consortium lineup was announced."

NC AI has formed a large-scale consortium, bringing together 54 industry-academic-research partners. This includes major system integration (SI) companies from large corporate groups such as Lotte Innovate and POSCO DX. The goal is to ensure sovereign AI is utilized across various industries and to promote 'K-AI' globally through sectors where Korea already holds a competitive edge.

He explained, "At first, we asked ourselves many times, 'What is sovereign AI?' and considered how to create technology that can protect the nation. We concluded that if our model is adopted for AI transformation in high-impact industries like manufacturing and media, it could become the world's best in itself." He added, "We are approaching this with the mindset that if we build it as we envision, we will ultimately survive." While the tight evaluation schedule forces them to focus on achieving step-by-step goals, this also reflects their confidence.

Kim particularly emphasized NC AI's strong capabilities in 3D generation technology, which is essential for implementing physical AI and, ultimately, digital twins in AI agents. He said, "The game and media sectors are essentially the ultimate in 'multimodal.' We implement everything-images, videos, 3D animations-in a multimodal manner. For robots to connect with the physical world, they must not only process text information but also perceive and make judgments about their surroundings. NC AI is the only one with the crucial 3D generation technology required for this."

This, he explained, directly contributes to cost savings through digital twins. For example, if a robot is to automatically move cars, each vehicle has a different underbody shape, requiring extensive testing and high costs. However, by integrating digital twin technology, one can simply take a photo of the underbody, generate a 3D model, and place it in a virtual space. In this process, physical AI not only controls robots in the physical environment but also manages digital twins, connecting both worlds.

He stated, "Ultimately, by creating a multimodal foundation model, we can use technology that instantly generates 3D models from any image to reduce overall experimentation costs and improve industrial efficiency. To showcase this technology to the public, we have developed a tool (the generative AI 'Barco 3D') and are currently holding a contest for game development using this tool."

Kim expressed confidence that NC AI will be selected as one of the final two teams in the first half of 2027. For now, the plan is to focus on developing a large language model (LLM) through the first and second rounds of evaluation by the first half of next year. He said, "Our proposal was not tailored to fit the project vision; rather, what NC AI originally aimed for was well-aligned with the project's intent. By integrating multimodal technology into sovereign AI and applying it across various industries, we aim to help Korea emerge as one of the world's top three AI powers (G3)."