Joint development of infrastructure-data-language model AI technology
Supporting ESG management of ICT companies through the creation of a joint fund
The two companies plan to share IP and open it up to small and medium-sized enterprises and venture companies.


SK Telecom and Kakao agreed on the 14th to cooperate in the fields of AI (artificial intelligence), ESG (environmental, social, and governance), and IP (intellectual property), and to share their major assets with society.

First, the two companies will embark on the joint development of AI technology. This will take place across all areas, including infrastructure, data, and language models, and they plan to proceed with intensive investment and development starting this year. To this end, they will share AI training data in the form of text, voice, and images. The two companies will mutually utilize the jointly developed AI technology and are also pursuing plans to make it available to academia and startups.

Furthermore, they plan to establish a joint ESG fund to support ESG activities for the sustainable development of SMEs and startups. They are currently reviewing the possibility of managing the joint fund through Kakao Ventures. Leveraging their experience in operating growth support programs for numerous companies, both firms intend to support the overall business activities of innovative ICT companies.

In addition, both companies plan to share their respective IPs and make them available to small and medium-sized enterprises and venture companies for public benefit purposes. Accordingly, to strengthen IP exchange between the two companies, they agreed to minimize mutual IP disputes and establish a joint IP pool in fields such as AI, platforms, and media.

Over the past five years, SK Telecom has participated in patent sharing activities by the Korea Invention Promotion Association and the Korea Institute for Industrial Technology Promotion, opening up 2,597 patents and transferring 130 of them free of charge. Kakao has also supported startups and venture companies through various investments and acquisitions, and plans to grow together with more companies in the future by opening up intangible assets such as patents.

Meanwhile, after exchanging shares worth 300 billion won and signing a strategic partnership in 2019, the two companies have been cooperating through a "Synergy Council" attended by their respective CEOs. In December 2020, they also formed an "AI R&D Council" that includes Samsung Electronics. The three companies plan to unveil "Pandemic Overcoming AI," the first result of their collaboration, in the first half of this year.