SK Telecom has committed $3.6B to AI over the next five years
In sum – what to know:
Independent AI CIC launched – SK Telecom creates a new in-house company unit to consolidate AI assets and streamline its transformation strategy.
KRW 5T investment pledged – The company will spend over five years to reach targeted AI revenues of at least KRW5 trillion by 2030.
Korean operator SK Telecom has launched an independent company-in-company (CIC) unit dedicated to artificial intelligence, consolidating its AI assets under a single structure to accelerate innovation and execution, the Korean press reported.
The company’s CEO Yoo Young-sang announced the initiative during a company-wide meeting on September 25, describing the AI CIC as an agile hub designed to fast-track both consumer-facing innovation and enterprise AI services. “To seize the opportunities of this golden era of AI, we must pursue both internal innovation from the consumer perspective and business innovation from the provider perspective,” Yoo said.
The new AI unit will integrate SK Telecom’s AI operations, including its A. (A dot) personal assistant, the A. Biz enterprise service, its AI data center business, global AI partnerships and investments, R&D activities, and messaging and authentication services. Yoo will serve concurrently as both CEO of SK Telecom and head of the new CIC, with organizational restructuring expected to be finalized by the end of October, according to the report.
The report also highlighted that the Korean operator has committed KRW5 trillion ($3.6 billion) to AI over the next five years, with the aim of generating at least the same amount in annual revenues from AI services by 2030. The company also plans to embed AI into its internal systems and infrastructure through what it calls a full-scale AI transformation (AX).
“SKT’s AI CIC will establish itself as Korea’s representative AI company across services, platforms, data centers, and foundation models,” Yoo said. “We aim not only to lead the domestic AI ecosystem but also to contribute meaningfully to the success of the national AI strategy.”
SK Telecom recently announced a strategic partnership with U.S. AI company OpenAI.
The collaboration follows the recent launch of OpenAI’s Korea office in Seoul on September 10 and highlights the Asian country’s growing role in global AI development. As part of the agreement, the partners also plan to expand their cooperation beyond B2C to B2B services and potential group-wide initiatives across SK Group.
