Domestic artificial intelligence (AI) models are being used in various ways across industrial sites including law, games, new materials and the startup ecosystem.

The Ministry of Science and ICT said on May 18 that companies ranging from large firms such as LG AI Research and SK Telecom to startups such as Upstage and NC AI are accelerating AI transformation (AX) with homegrown AI models.

Legal tech firm Law&Company applied Upstage’s proprietary AI model Solar Open to the on-premise version of its legal AI service Super Lawyer, which supports lawyers’ core tasks such as case law searches, legal reviews and drafting documents. It is currently conducting beta tests for government agencies and is pushing for wider rollout in the field. Provided on an on-premise basis, it allows users to access high-quality legal AI services even in environments requiring security measures such as network separation.

Park Seong-rae (박성래), head researcher at Upstage’s NFM Center, said, "We are united with a clear goal of establishing the pride of Korean AI among global giants." He said, "Because we believe the foundation model we are building will be a solid foundation for future innovation in Korean AI, we do not waver even in the face of a fast-paced race."

Krafton plans to introduce PUBG Ally using its Co-Playable Character (CPC) technology, which enables game characters to interact with players. To improve the Ally character’s Korean communication capability, it upgraded data using SK Telecom’s proprietary AI model A.X K-1, developed by SK Telecom in combination with government support. A.X K-1 has strengths in understanding the Korean language and cultural context, and the two companies collaborated across the development process, including data collection and research on precursor models.

Kim Hyun-seung (김현승), development lead for PUBG Ally at Krafton’s AI Applied Research Lab, said, "We are improving the quality of Korean-language conversations in PUBG Ally using A.X K-1." He said, "We plan to develop experiences that allow people and CPCs to communicate more naturally so that players can feel new fun in games."

Cheon Seong-jun (천성준), technology PM for SKT Dokpamo, said, "It is meaningful that K-AI technology can contribute to naturally enhancing user experiences within K-game services and content." He said, "We will continue to advance the technology so that K-AI can contribute to people’s daily lives across diverse industries and service areas."

EXAONE Discovery, a specialized AI model for discovering new materials developed by LG AI Research, will be deployed in LG Household & Health Care’s cosmetics materials development operations. EXAONE Discovery learns large volumes of molecular structure and chemical reaction data to predict material properties and synthesis outcomes and to select optimal efficacy materials.

It said a process that previously took 22 months to discover new materials was shortened to just 1 day. As a real case where AI replaces researchers’ long trial-and-error process, the company expected it to raise both the speed and efficiency of LG Household & Health Care’s materials research and development.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Entrepreneurship Foundation will build an ecosystem that enables startups to challenge themselves in commercialising AI use and to develop AI solutions tailored to corporate and industrial sites, based on a proprietary AI model developed by NC AI. The project is called Everyone’s Challenge AX and supports startups previously blocked by barriers to entering AI technology so they can use proprietary AI models as a springboard to achieve tangible business results. The latest recruitment drew a rush of applications from startups seeking to use domestic proprietary AI technology, resulting in intense competition. In addition to NC AI, multiple K-AI companies are participating in the programme to support startups’ AX.