[K-AI Challenge] ② SKT's 100 Million KRW-a-Day GPU Push... AI Focused on Practicality

[Interview] Taeyoon Kim, Head of Foundation Model at SK Telecom
Entering the Initial Competition Using In-House GPUs Without Government Support
Aiming to Build an Integrated Model for Voice, Audio, and Agents

Taeyoon Kim, head of the Foundation Model at SK Telecom. He has been leading the Foundation Model department since this year. Photo by SKT

"When you actually start building an AI model, you feel tremendous pressure. Since it requires an enormous amount of GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), it can cost as much as 100 million won per day."

Taeyoon Kim, Executive Vice President and head of the Foundation Model at SK Telecom, who leads the SK Telecom consortium selected as an elite team for the Ministry of Science and ICT’s "Independent AI Foundation Model Project," shared these remarks in an interview with Asia Economy at Ferrum Tower in Euljiro, Seoul, on August 6. He stated, "It is realistically difficult to surpass the world’s top level in a short period of time," but also expressed his determination to take on the challenge, saying, "As an engineer, this is an opportunity."

On August 4, the Ministry of Science and ICT selected only five consortia, including SKT, out of a total of 15. These teams will enter an intense competition, undergoing performance evaluations every six months, with only one or two teams ultimately surviving. Kim emphasized, "If we don't take on this challenge now, within one or two years, Korea will lose its technological competitiveness at the core of AI, namely large language models." He added, "There are areas where we can catch up quickly. We will gradually demonstrate that what we create is somewhat better in terms of actual use."

When asked how he felt about being selected, Kim replied, "After hardship comes more hardship." His expression reflected both the burden and anticipation of what lies ahead. The challenges are significant: GPU costs of 100 million won per day, evaluations every six months, and competition with big tech companies. Nevertheless, this project is expected to serve as a crucial test to determine whether Korea can emerge as a powerhouse in AI.

Kim, an AI expert with a PhD in Electronic Engineering from Korea University, joined SKT in 2016 after working at LG Electronics, Georgia Tech, and Samsung Electronics. He explained, "Because this field is so competitive, we are using a two-track strategy." SKT is simultaneously developing "A.Dot X3," which builds a model from scratch, and "A.Dot X4," which improves existing open-source models. For this government project, they chose the "from scratch" approach, meaning they will build the model entirely from the ground up.

The goal is clear. The existing A.Dot X3 model consists of a standard version with 34 billion (34B) parameters and a lightweight version with 7 billion (7B) parameters. This time, the plan is to build a model at least ten times larger, with "hundreds of billions (hundreds of B) of parameters."

Notably, until the second round of competition, they will use only their own resources without government GPU support. To achieve this, they will utilize the existing Titan cluster (1,500 A100s), a new H100-based cluster, and the AI data center infrastructure that SKT is developing. Kim expressed confidence, saying, "We won't run short of GPUs."

SKT’s strength lies in its already proven service foundation. Its proprietary AI service "A.Dot" has surpassed 10 million users. Liner, another consortium participant, also has 10 million users. The strategy, based on this service experience, is "practicality." Kim said, "Rather than focusing on beating benchmarks, it’s more important to hear people say, after actually using it, 'That was good.'"

The SKT consortium for the independent AI foundation model project led by Kim Taeyun, head of the SKT foundation model, consists of Krafton, FortyTwoDot, Rebellion, Liner, SelectStar, Seoul National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, and KAIST. Photo by SKT

To this end, SKT has formed a "full-stack AI" consortium with not only Liner but also Seoul National University, KAIST, Krafton, and others. This structure covers the entire spectrum, from infrastructure and technology development to service. Game company Krafton provides video and audio processing technology, while Liner contributes its real-world service operation expertise. Kim emphasized, "This project is not just about building a single large language model (LLM), but aims to develop a multimodal model that integrates agents connected to voice, audio, and computers."

The government has set the performance target for this project at "95% or higher compared to the latest global AI models." Kim commented, "That is not an impossible figure."

However, competition with the world’s top players is formidable. OpenAI has invested billions of dollars to develop GPT, and Google and Meta are also pouring astronomical sums into the field. Kim said, "We don’t have to beat GPT-5 right away. Each of us will find our place within a diverse spectrum."

When asked whether the project could have as much impact as China’s "DeepSeek," which recently made headlines in the AI industry, Kim replied, "Rather than aiming for a so-called 'DeepSeek Moment' (a breakthrough achieved in a short time with limited resources), we are striving for a 'Breakthrough Moment' (the moment that marks a turning point for innovation)." He added, "DeepSeek has been well-known among engineers for a year and a half; it didn’t just appear suddenly. For now, the realistic goal is to rapidly elevate Korea’s open-source and model development capabilities, which are currently lagging behind global standards."

The future SKT envisions is "AI in everyday life." Kim predicted, "AI will become an essential tool in daily life, just like the internet." He continued, "Within SKT, AI is already being used extensively. For example, the call summary function saves hundreds of billions of won annually. Similarly, at the group level, AI is moving beyond being a novel technology to becoming an indispensable one."

Based on this expertise, SKT plans to make AI easily accessible to the general public. Kim said, "We hope that the AI technologies we develop will become embedded in the tools people use in their daily lives. We want to help create new industrial opportunities."