Microsoft Partners with Korea Telecom for Billion-Dollar AI Initiative

Microsoft and  Korea Telecom partnered for five years, investing billions to enhance AI in South Korea.

South Korean phone company Korea Telecom and Microsoft have agreed to collaborate for five years and invest billions of dollars to improve AI nationwide.

The companies say that together they will be able to offer AI-powered solutions to more than 650,000 businesses and 17 million consumers, mainly in fields like healthcare, education, and finance.

A key component of the partnership is the creation of AI models specifically tailored for the Korean market. KT and Microsoft will collaborate to create a localized version of OpenAI’s GPT-4o.

This version will use KT’s data to make AI solutions for both consumer and business applications. To make these models, we will use Microsoft’s Copilot Studio and Azure AI Studio.

The two businesses will also start offering private cloud services to the government and regulated businesses in Korea. Businesses and the government will be able to use the latest AI and cloud technology while still following data security rules with KT’s “Secure Public Cloud,” which was built on Microsoft’s Cloud for Sovereignty.

According to a press release from KT CEO Young-Shub Kim, the partnership with Microsoft is a great chance to work together on technology, build up Korea’s AI foundation, and bring about revolutionary changes in many areas of life and business.

“With the help of this strategic partnership, we hope to quickly grow into an AICT company that is unbeatable in both domestic and international markets.”

In the same way, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said, “We will help speed up the AI transformation of Korean organizations across the private and public sector and build new AI-powered experiences for millions of consumers.”

KT Launches Microsoft-Powered AI Solutions

KT is starting a new business that will focus on providing Microsoft-powered AI solutions to businesses.

This is to assist businesses in adopting AI, which will later expand into the wider Southeast Asian market. Over the next three years, Microsoft will help build the company by giving it support and advice.

KT and Microsoft will also set up a co-innovation centre to help AI research in South Korea. This center will assist companies in creating new AI solutions, as well as assist AI startups in bringing new ideas to the entire company.