South Korean telecomm pours massive investment into an AI project, a bold move to power a multi-lingual AI. Discover how exciting the future of multi-lingual AI can be.
Google-Backed Anthropic Secures $100 Million Investment from SK Telecom
SK Telecom has announced an investment of $100 million in Anthropic, an AI startup based in the United States. Anthropic, a rising AI company, has stepped up as a competitor to OpenAI in constructing foundational AI models.
Back in May, the company secured an impressive $450 million in funding. The backers included Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., and Spark Capital.
The Reason Behind the Partnership
The collaboration between SK Telecom and Anthropic is aimed at creating telecommunications-focused multilingual large language model. This partnership intends to bring in the development of an AI platform that caters to the needs of the telecommunications industry on a global scale.
While the precise scale of SK Telecom’s earlier investment in May remains undisclosed. Anthropic, established in 2021 by former OpenAI executives, has rapidly emerged as a key player in the AI field. Their Claude models, often regarded as significant contenders to OpenAI’s GPT-4, have garnered attention and respect.
The strategic investment aligns with SK Telecom’s broader ambitions in the AI arena, with the company recently forming an alliance with Deutsche Telekom, e&, and Singapore Telecommunications. This partnership aims to collaboratively advance AI-driven ventures within the telecommunications domain.
SK Telecom’s venture capital arm, SK Telecom Venture Capital (SKTVC), previously participated in the Series C round. These recent moves signal the company’s growing interest in the AI sector.
Multilingual AI
The focal point of the collaboration lies in the co-development of a multilingual large language model. THe model will be particularly designed for global telecommunications entities. Anthropic’s chief science officer, Jared Kaplan, will steer the customization and product roadmap efforts.
SK Telecom envisions deploying various AI services powered by the large language model for prospective customers seeking to use AI capabilities. These services cater to diverse sectors, including global telecommunications companies. TThe goal is to support languages such as English, Korean, German, Japanese, Arabic, and Spanish.
The company’s recent release of Claude Instant 1.2, incorporating advancements from Claude 2, shows their commitment to move things forward. Claude’s applications within the telecommunications industry span industry-specific customer service, marketing, sales, and interactive consumer experiences.
