SKT to Lead AI Transformation in Industry and Society with AI Services and Technologies

SK Telecom held a press conference in Barcelona, Spain, to unveil its ambitious plans to achieve ‘AI to Everywhere’ by driving innovations in five different areas, namely Customer & Technology, Time & Space, AI Transformation(AIX) for Industries, Core Business Model, and ESG.

CEO Ryu said that SKT’s AI service ‘A.’ has successfully settled in the Korean market by securing 1 million subscribers within just 9 months of its launch, and unveiled plans to further upgrade the service to not only shape it into the leading AI service in Korea, but also to develop opportunities in the global market.

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Through acquisition of sufficient knowledge data and machine learning, SKT is currently developing A. features that will enable users to engage in highly intellectual dialogues as well as emotional conversations that make users feel as if they are talking to their friends. It also plans to keep linking more and more features to A. for a more intuitive user experience – i.e. by removing the need to move between apps or conduct cumbersome searches.

The company plans to expand the variety and scope of A. features/services from 30 to 100, and is currently promoting partnerships with popular character companies.

CEO Ryu stated that the new features, including advanced conversations, multiple characters, and customized content, will be included in the updated version of A. to be released within this quarter.

He also shared his ambitions to advance into the global market with A. by customizing the service to each different market and advancing related technologies in cooperation with global telcos and AI tech companies.

Time & Space

CEO Ryu said that SKT will expand time and space for customers by increasing the realm of its business from ground to air and from reality to virtual space, and expand its role from a mobile operator to mobility operator via services like urban air mobility (UAM), autonomous driving and robots.

He explained that the company is moving fast to achieve commercialization of UAMservice by developing use cases and conducting test flights, and has gained strong competitiveness in key UAM technologies such as aircrafts, 5G UAM communication network, navigation/ control, and location analysis.

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Ryu also unveiled plans to introduce diverse use cases – e.g. UAM flight between airport and city centers, tourism products, etc. – in collaboration with local governments including Jeju and Daegu.

In the area of autonomous driving, which is being promoted as a long-term project, the company plans to enter into the AI solutions market.

CEO Ryu stated that SKT will develop a world-class self-driving solution package by combining SAPEON’s semiconductor chip for autonomous driving, software technology of Phantom AI, a company SKT decided to invest in, and SKT’s experience acquired through the operation of ‘Nugu Auto,’ an AI platform for automobiles.

In the area of robots, the company has launched diverse types of robots, including logistics robot and barista robot, and plans to boost the AI ecosystem by cooperating with Qualcomm and Integrit to develop an open robotics data platform.

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