KT and Microsoft announce five-year AI partnership aimed at transforming Korean industries

KT Corporation and Microsoft have entered into a five-year partnership focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), cloud technologies, and IT business development. The collaboration includes both a financial investment from KT and resource support from Microsoft, with the aim of advancing AI services and innovation in South Korea.

As part of the partnership, the two companies will focus on five key areas, including the development of customized AI solutions for Korea. This effort will involve creating tailored versions of Microsoft’s GPT-4 and small language models using KT’s data. These AI models will be used in a variety of applications, including customer service chatbots and industry-specific solutions for businesses.

KT’s CEO, Young-Shub Kim, stated, “The partnership with Microsoft presents a pivotal opportunity, not only for technological collaboration but also for expanding Korea’s AI foundation and driving transformative innovation across industries and daily life.”

Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, added, “Our strategic partnership brings together KT’s industry expertise with the power of our entire tech stack, from Azure AI to Microsoft 365 Copilot. Together, we will help accelerate the AI transformation of Korean organizations across the private and public sectors.”

The partnership also involves the launch of sovereign cloud solutions built on Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty, designed to meet the privacy and regulatory requirements of Korea’s public sector and regulated industries. KT will also create an AI transformation service company to help Korean businesses adopt AI technologies, with plans to expand this initiative to ASEAN markets.

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