KT partners with U.S. Microsoft for cooperation in AI, cloud

[Courtesy of KT Corp.]

South Korea’s KT Corp. has signed an agreement with U.S. Microsoft Corp. to collaborate on artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud technologies.

KT announced on Tuesday that it has signed a strategic agreement with Microsoft on Monday at the U.S. company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

The agreement ceremony was attended by KT Chief Executive Officer Kim Young-shub and Microsoft Executive Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella.

Under the agreement, KT and Microsoft will engage in joint research and development of sovereign AI and cloud technologies and will also work on fostering talent in related fields.

Microsoft‘s technology will be used to develop a model that processes AI training and data computing with enhanced security, either in KT’s own data centers or in the cloud, to address data leakage concerns associated with global AI applications such as ChatGPT. The collaboration will focus on creating tailored models for the public and financial sectors.

The partnership will focus on developing business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) services rather than creating telecommunications-specific large language models (LLMs).

In 2022, KT announced to commercialize its large-scale AI, Mi:dm and has been putting out efforts to promote AI business by applying the AI language model to its AI Contact Center.

KT has turned to Microsoft for a partnership amid intensifying competition for AI technology, with major tech companies such as Meta Platforms Inc. and Google LLC advancing their AI technologies and domestic telecommunications companies forming partnerships.