SK Telecom Unveils 'AI Native' Strategy
At MWC Barcelona, SK Telecom's CEO unveiled a major strategic shift to become an "AI Native" company. The plan involves a complete overhaul of its telecommunications systems and infrastructure to be centered on AI. The move prioritizes AI and customer value to drive what the company calls a "major transformation."
This strategic pivot is built on what SK Telecom calls its "AI Pyramid Strategy," which focuses on three core areas: AI Infrastructure, AI Transformation (AIX), and AI Service. The company plans to triple its investment in AI-related ventures over the next five years, aiming for AI to account for 33% of its total investment by 2028. At the base of this pyramid is a massive investment in AI Infrastructure, including the development of 1GW-class hyperscale AI data centers across South Korea. This initiative is designed to attract global investment and position the nation as a major AI hub in Asia. The company is also collaborating with OpenAI to build an AI data center in the southwestern region of the country. A key element of the strategy is the development of a telco-specific large language model (LLM). This specialized LLM is being co-developed with partners in the Global Telco AI Alliance, such as Deutsche Telekom and SoftBank, to better understand the nuances of the telecommunications industry. The goal is to enhance customer interactions through more intelligent digital assistants and chatbots. SK Telecom is also collaborating with major AI players like OpenAI and Anthropic to accelerate its capabilities. These partnerships are aimed at integrating cutting-edge AI into its services and infrastructure. The company is also working with Nvidia to deploy thousands of GPUs to power a Manufacturing AI Cloud for SK Group subsidiaries. This "AI Native" approach extends to the company's future network architecture. SK Telecom has released a 6G white paper titled "ATHENA" that outlines its vision for an AI-native network. This framework is built on principles of zero-trust security, hyper-connectivity, and cloud-native operations to support future AI-driven services. To facilitate this transformation internally, SK Telecom is reorganizing its corporate structure into seven business divisions, with four dedicated to AI. The company has also implemented an "AX Dashboard" to provide a comprehensive view of AI utilization across all departments and encourage skill development among employees. The company's consumer AI assistant, "A.", has already surpassed 9 million users.
