Newsletter N°80 - September 2025 

SK Telecom is revolutionizing its artificial intelligence strategy by emphasizing real-world usability over competitive benchmarking, according to Kim Tae-yoon, Vice President overseeing the company's foundation model program. This approach positions the telecom giant as a leader among South Korea's five elite teams selected to develop the nation's sovereign AI foundation model.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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User-Centric AI Philosophy:

"Rather than touting performance through benchmarks, we want people to actually use our AI and decide for themselves," Kim stated in a recent interview. This philosophy drives SK Telecom's focus on practical value in domestic industries and daily life applications, acknowledging that while matching world-leading performance may be challenging initially, Korean AI can excel in localized applications.

 

The company's flagship A.X (A dot X) model exemplifies this practical approach. Originally handling 10 million daily call summary requests through multiple LLM agents including ChatGPT and Claude, SK Telecom successfully transitioned to using exclusively its proprietary A.X model, achieving both cost reduction and performance improvement.

 

From Language to Omnimodal AI:

SK Telecom is advancing beyond text-based models toward "omnimodal" technology capable of processing text, images, speech, and video in an integrated manner. The company plans to develop multi-trillion parameter models using Mixture of Experts (MoE) architecture to maximize learning efficiency while maintaining computational feasibility.

 

Kim outlined the evolution: "We're moving from existing language-centered models to next-generation large omnimodal 'K-AI models' that can process text, voice, images, videos, and even actions through integrated reasoning capabilities".

 

Post-Transformer Innovation Research:

Starting in late 2025, SK Telecom will launch research into "post-transformer" architecture to address current limitations in computational efficiency and energy consumption. This groundbreaking approach aims to move beyond the transformer backbone that powers GPT and LLaMA models, seeking improved performance for long-context data and multimodal information processing.

 

"Proposing a post-transformer architecture signals our intent to explore research that breaks away from existing structures," Kim explained, emphasizing collaboration with top machine learning faculty from Seoul National University and KAIST.

 

Comprehensive Service Integration:

SK Telecom's AI strategy extends across multiple touchpoints through its A. (A dot) personal assistant, which has evolved into a comprehensive AI secretary service. The platform now offers:

• Multi-LLM agent functionality supporting eight global models including ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and proprietary A.X

• Daily life management integrating calendars, schedules, sleep analysis, and routine optimization

• Voice conversation capabilities with natural dialogue flow

• Cross-device accessibility through both mobile apps and PC web platforms

 

Industrial Applications and SK Group Integration:

Beyond consumer services, SK Telecom plans to integrate AI across SK Group's manufacturing, energy, biotech, and semiconductor operations. Potential applications include automating call centers, assisting with report writing, and analyzing industrial processes—uses that deliver immediate operational benefits.

 

The consortium approach includes partnerships with Krafton (gaming AI), 42dot (mobility services), Rebellions (AI semiconductors), and LINER (knowledge search), creating a comprehensive ecosystem for AI deployment across industries.

 

SK Telecom's strategy represents a fundamental shift in AI development philosophy, prioritizing user experience and practical problem-solving over technical performance metrics. This approach positions the company to create genuinely useful AI tools that integrate seamlessly into Korean users' daily routines while building toward sovereign AI capabilities that serve national technological independence.