LG CNS launches AI center for synergy of business, research

South Korea’s LG CNS Co., a cloud computing services arm of LG Corp., said on Sunday it has launched an artificial intelligence center to strengthen the synergy effect of AI research and tech-related business development and execution.

There are three major units in the new entity – a unit to identify generative AI business opportunities with corporate clients; a unit to conduct AI businesses including cloud computing-based customer care; and a group of AI labs to study language, vision, data and engineering.

The center aims to connect its AI tech research to clients’ business innovation, LG CNS said. It is the only Korean company that has integrated AI business identification and execution with AI research organizations, the company added.

AI FOR CORPORATE CLIENTS

LG CNS provides corporate clients with generative AI services for a company’s internal information for employees, visual content creation, work support, customer care, business information and AI coding.

Through the services, workers can quickly receive information on their company’s internal regulations, analyze causes of defective products, organize big data, design new products, or support the company’s decision-making.

The company will ramp up the generative AI services in finance, manufacturing, distribution and public sectors this year.

In Korea, it is accelerating the business development of a bank’s ChatGPT-based document search and a manufacturer’s product image creation. LG CNS said it is in discussions with other companies to apply its generative AI tech to various fields.

GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS

In efforts to spur its AI business, LG CNS partnered with Microsoft Corp. last April to cooperate in new services development based on Azure OpenAI Service, which uses OpenAI’s large language models such as ChatGPT for language understanding and analysis of images and emotions.

Last August, LG CNS became a strategic investor in Silicon Valley-based large language model developer Anthropic for unknown value. The Korean firm is also in talks with Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services for generative AI businesses.

LG CNS’ strength comes from its AI services, which are advanced through close collaborations between an AI-specialized unit and a data-specialized unit, said the company’s AI Center Chief Jin Yo-han, a data scientist who previously led the digital transformation of SK Telecom Co. and E-Mart Inc.

LG CNS will maximize clients’ business innovation through its AI Center, he added.

The company, which is 35% owned by Macquarie Group, is working on an initial public offering this year. Proceeds from its share sale will be used to finance new growth businesses, Chief Executive Hyun Shin-kyun said earlier this month.

Macquarie bought a 35% stake in LG CNS from LG’s holding company LG Corp. for 950 billion won ($710.3 million) in 2020.

Write to Kyung-Ju Kang at qurasoha@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.