AI startup Upstage, Kakao Healthcare to develop LLM service

Artificial intelligence (AI) startup Upstage said Wednesday it has signed an initial agreement with Kakao's health care unit to jointly develop a digital health care service using a large language model (LLM).

Upstage Chief Technology Officer Lee Hwal-suk, left, and Kakao Healthcare's head of research, Shin Soo-yong, pose for a photo at an MOU signing ceremony at Kakao Healthcare's headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi.

Artificial intelligence (AI) startup Upstage said Wednesday it has signed an initial agreement with Kakao's health care unit to jointly develop a digital health care service using a large language model (LLM).

Under the memorandum of understanding, Upstage and Kakao Healthcare will join hands to develop a project to launch an AI service for children and teenagers, which provides medical counseling and assistance to lessen the burden on doctors, according to the startup.

The two companies have formed a consortium to win the project from the National IT Industry Promotion Agency.

For the project, Upstage plans to develop an LLM tailored to the needs of the medical staff by automating various tasks, including drug prescription and case studies.

The new model has been tentatively named Solar-Medical after Upstage's independent AI model, Solar.

Upstage said it plans to make inroads into the AI meditech market through cooperation with Kakao Healthcare.

Yonhap