Naver signs MOU on AI tech with Aramco Digital

The Korean internet giant inked an agreement with the Saudi technology company that

Naver's Chae Seon-ju, president of communications and social responsibility, Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yoo-won, Naver Labs CEO Seok Sang-ok and Aramco Digital CEO Tareq Amin and other officials participate at the signing ceremony on the two companies' partnership in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. [NAVER]

Naver has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Saudi Aramco’s tech subsidiary to collaborate on the development of AI technologies, the Korean company said on Wednesday.

Naver and Aramco Digital will co-develop cloud technologies and an Arabic large language model (LLM) optimized for the Middle East.

The two companies will also work together on Saudi Arabia’s mega-scale smart city project “NEOM,” utilizing Naver’s cloud, robotics and digital twin technologies.

The partnership comes two months after Naver’s Chae Seon-ju, president of communications and social responsibility, visited Aramco’s headquarters in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, in January, when Aramco Digital initially proposed collaborating.

Naver is one of the few global companies outside of the Big Tech giants from the U.S. and China to develop and operate LLMs from the training stage utilizing its own in-house technologies and infrastructure, the company emphasized in a statement.

“We are delighted that Naver’s technological capabilities were recognized by a global company,” Chae said. “We hope that our technologies are actively promoted in other regions based on the successful precedent that the company envisions will be built with Aramco Digital.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]