S.Korean IT firms rush for tie-ups to compete with ChatGPT

South Korean tech companies are rushing to form partnerships in different sectors to develop superior AI services to compete with ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by Microsoft Corp.-backed OpenAI and based on generative AI technology.

Naver Corp., Korea’s top online portal, teamed up with Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s No. 1 memory chipmaker, while KT Corp., the country’s leading telecom carrier, tied up with fabless startup Rebellions Inc., according to industry sources on Monday.

Naver has been working with Samsung since late last year on the development of a next-generation AI chip solution optimized for its hyper-scale AI platform – Hyperclova – based on the Korean language. The solution is known to be in the final stage of development.

SEARCH GPT BASED ON HYPERCLOVA

In the first half, the platform giant plans to unveil Search GPT, an AI-powered search service powered by high-quality search data and the Hyperclova technology, with 204 billion learning parameters.

The more parameters that a deep-learning model has, the more information the super-scale AI can process.

A hyper AI platform that can learn large-scale data on its own and make comprehensive inferences like humans requires high-powered, high-speed hardware, advanced computing networks, as well as software with algorithm technology.

To address such challenges, Naver is focusing on upgrading Hyperclova’s functions while partnering with Samsung on developing semiconductors to resolve the bottlenecks that occur in the existing computing system.

Both companies are also known to be jointly seeking ways to apply AI technologies optimized for AI semiconductors.

MI:DEUM

KT aims to commercialize MI:DEUM, its super multi-layer AI tool optimized for Korea during the first half of this year in cooperation with Rebellions. The aim is for the AI, whose collaborative convergence intelligence can easily learn various application cases, understand emotions and empathize with humans.

KT unveiled a goal to complete a full stack of Korean AI semiconductors that are over three times as efficient as existing ones within this year.

Last year, the company made strategic investments in Rebellions and AI infrastructure provider Moreh.

Rebellions is set to equip a lightweight model of MI:DEUM with its latest system-on-chip Atom.

Write to Sungsu Bae at baebae@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.