Korean Tech Groups to Test ‘AI for All’ Services in October
Consortia led by SK Telecom, KT and Kakao are preparing closed beta launches under a government-backed program designed to widen access to domestically developed artificial intelligence services.
Three South Korean technology consortia plan to begin closed beta tests of artificial intelligence services in October under a government-backed initiative intended to make AI more broadly accessible, according to government and industry sources.
The groups are led by SK Telecom, KT and Kakao, placing three of the country’s largest telecommunications and platform companies at the center of the rollout. Their planned launches form part of the government’s “AI for All” project, which was announced in July as South Korea seeks to expand its domestic AI ecosystem and reduce reliance on foreign models.
A central requirement of the program is that domestic AI models account for at least half of the services offered by participating developers. The government is supporting the work with funding and access to graphics processing units, the specialized computing hardware widely used to train and operate AI systems.
The planned beta releases will provide an early test of whether locally developed models can be turned into consumer-facing services at national scale. The developers have set a target of 5 million monthly active users for the services. Kakao has outlined a longer-term goal of reaching 10 million users by 2027 and 30 million by 2030.
South Korea also plans to provide an additional 250 billion won, or about $184 million, from next year to advance the services. That support includes the cost of securing roughly 2,000 GPUs, underscoring the importance of computing capacity in the competition to build and distribute generative AI products.
The program is entering the market as generative AI use is already widespread in South Korea but remains concentrated in free entry-level products. Ministry of Science and ICT data show that about 23 million people in the country have used generative AI models. Of those users, approximately 21 million have relied on free lower-tier services.
That usage pattern gives the participating companies a large potential audience, while also setting a demanding benchmark for convenience, performance and affordability. The closed beta phase will allow the three groups to test their offerings with limited users before any broader release.
The October launches will also serve as an early measure of the government’s strategy to connect public investment, domestic models and large consumer platforms. Their performance could help determine whether South Korea can translate its existing user base and technology infrastructure into sustained demand for homegrown AI services.