SKT debuts massive 500b-parameter sovereign AI model

SK Telecom’s exhibition booth is on display at COEX during the first presentation of the sovereign AI foundation model project, hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT on Tuesday. (SK Telecom)

SK Telecom said Tuesday it has unveiled A.X K1, the nation’s first artificial intelligence model with 500 billion parameters, aiming to expand public access to its AI services and deploy them at industrial sites.

The new model debuted at the first presentation for the sovereign AI foundation model project hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT at COEX in southern Seoul.

During the competition, SKT said AI performance scales with model size, arguing that Korea’s AI industry needs large-parameter models to secure global leadership. The company stressed that A.X K1 could serve as social overhead capital by handling high-difficulty tasks and accelerating AI adoption across domestic industries.

SKT highlighted Haein, a GPU cluster built at its data center in Gasan-dong, Seoul, as well as its Ulsan data center, now under construction and set to become the largest of its kind in Korea. It underscored the importance of an integrated value chain spanning AI infrastructure, models and services.

To develop the model, SKT partnered with professors from Seoul National University and KAIST and collaborated with companies across multiple sectors, including AI semiconductor unicorn Rebellions, game publisher Krafton, Hyundai Motor’s autonomous driving unit 42dot, AI search engine operator Liner and AI data solution startup SelectStar.

The company also emphasized its operational capabilities across both business-to-consumer and business-to-business segments, noting that the company could generate AI-driven synergies through its Adot assistant service, which has 10 million users, and collaboration with affiliates such as SK Hynix, SK Innovation and SK AX.

Vice President Kim Tae-yoon explained that the model could serve in various formats, including chatbots, pledging that SK Telecom will continue to support Korea’s push to “leap forward as one of the world’s top three AI powerhouses” and make everyone benefit from AI.