Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, visited South Korea on Wednesday to host the Microsoft AI Summit, drawing attention to the potential for further collaboration with KT in AI.
Last September, KT and Microsoft entered a strategic partnership, committing to a 2.4 trillion KRW (approximately $1.8 billion) investment over five years. The goal is to develop AI solutions and cloud services tailored to Korea while fostering local AI talent.
At that time, KT set an ambitious target to achieve cumulative sales of up to 4.6 trillion KRW (around $3.45 billion) through the partnership with Microsoft. Earlier this year, Kim Young Seop reiterated this commitment, assuring tangible outcomes from the collaboration at employee town halls and during MWC 2025.
KT has already accelerated this partnership, appointing a former Microsoft Korea executive to lead the cloud and enterprise customer operations as part of its first personnel changes of the year.
The previous month, KT hosted an AX strategy seminar for executives from 12 major Korean financial companies, during which it introduced its AX solutions.
Both companies are preparing to unveil a Korea-specific AI in the second quarter. KT has secured high-quality data for AI development through a recent partnership with the Institute of Ethnic Culture at Korea University.
In addition, KT is set to launch its Secure Public Cloud (SPC), which is expected to play a crucial role in supporting the infrastructure and solutions needed to deploy AX technology.
KT also plans to establish an AX Delivery Center to train specialists in AX technology and collaborate with Microsoft to develop world-class AI and cloud services.
Industry experts believe that when Nadella and Kim meet again in Seoul, they will further solidify their collaborative initiatives. However, KT has not confirmed any details about a potential meeting.
The Microsoft AI Tour is a platform for Microsoft to showcase its latest technology and share global trends. Nadella will deliver the keynote speech at the event, and KT executives, including Kim Hoon Dong, Baek Soon Min(head of the AI Future Lab), and Kang Seong Kwon, will participate in various sessions.