SKT Launches Social Problem-Solving Incubation Program
Published2026.04.07 11:38
The 'support for 500 startups' plan unveiled at MWC 26 begins in earnest
Applications for participation will be accepted on the SKTCH website until April 30. Fifteen companies will be selected, focusing on areas that combine public interest and market potential, such as digital inclusion and care, climate disaster response, and digital crime prevention. Selected companies will be provided with growth support programs, including business commercialization mentoring, identification of collaboration models with SK Telecom, investment attraction consulting, opportunities to participate in domestic and international exhibitions, and office space.
This program is an extension of 'SKTCH,' a startup collaboration platform operated by SK Telecom. Combining 'SKT' with 'Tech,' this platform has served as a collaboration channel designed to bridge the gap between large corporations and startups. This time, a key feature is that companies with the capacity to solve social problems will be selected through a separate track.
Behind this lies SK Telecom's mid-to-long-term startup support plan. At 4YFN, a side event of MWC 26 held in Barcelona, Spain last March, the company unveiled a goal to support 500 startups by 2030. Looking at this year's support plan alone, the company is pursuing support for a total of 80 startups, including 15 under 'SKTCH for Good' and 15 under 'SKTCH with AI,' which is scheduled to launch in July.
SK Telecom has supported 78 ESG startups since 2021. This call for proposals is seen as a starting point for bifurcating the support system; as an extension of this effort, it maintains existing support for social problem-solving while separately selecting companies offering full-stack AI innovation technologies and customer-facing AI solutions in the second half of the year. This effectively clarifies the strategy of establishing ESG and AI as independent pillars while aligning the technology and business infrastructure of large corporations with the solutions of startups.
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SKT Partners with Supermicro and Schneider to Build Modular AI Data Centers at MWC26
SK Telecom has signed a three-party Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Supermicro and Schneider Electric at MWC26 held in Barcelona, Spain, to build an AI data center (AI DC). The three companies will jointly review an integrated solution using a "Pre-fabricated Modular" approach, in which servers and equipment such as power and cooling systems are integrally designed in module units, pre-manufactured, and then assembled on-site. SKT will participate in promoting the integrated model based on its operational experience, while Supermicro will take on the role of GPU server and cluster configuration capabilities, and Schneider will be responsible for MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) design and operational solution services. Specific construction timelines and cost reduction figures have not been disclosed.
2026.03.04by 명세환 기자
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SKT's "Haein" wins GLOMO's "Best Cloud Solution" award at MWC
SK Telecom received the 'Best Cloud Solution' award at the GSMA Global Mobile Awards (GLOMO) held during MWC Barcelona 2026. The award-winning solution is 'Haein,' which comprises over 1,000 Nvidia Blackwell-based B200 GPUs configured as a single cluster, and SK Telecom announced that it provides this in a subscription-based GPUaaS (GPU-as-a-Service) format. SK Telecom explained that it applies GPU virtualization solution 'Petasus AI Cloud' and operational management tool 'AI Cloud Manager' together to partition and reconfigure resources. SK Telecom announced this marks three consecutive years of winning in the same category, following 'Cloud Radar' in 2024 and 'Petasus Cloud' in 2025.
2026.03.05by 명세환 기자
SKT launches iPhone 17e with expanded storage capacity, maintaining price at 990,000 won.
스마트폰 시장에서 가격 대비 성능을 중시하는 수요가 확대되면서 주요 제조사와 통신사들은 ‘보급형 프리미엄’ 전략을 강화하고 있다. SK텔레콤은 아이폰 17 시리즈의 주요 기능을 유지하면서 가격 부담을 낮춘 ‘아이폰 17e’를 출시했다. 저장 용량을 전작 대비 두 배로 늘리면서도 출고가는 99만 원으로 유지했다. A19 칩과 세라믹 쉴드2, 향상된 무선 충전 기능 등을 적용해 성능을 개선했다. 온라인 요금제 가입 시 OTT 이용 혜택과 스마트워치 할인 프로그램도 함께 제공된다.
2026.03.11by 명세환 기자
SKT Pushes for 'One AI Agent Per Employee'... Full-Scale Transition to Field-Oriented AX
SK Telecom is implementing a "one person, one AI agent" system where all employees create and utilize AI agents tailored to their respective tasks. Beyond simple task automation, the initiative aims to expand AX (AI transformation) in a way that allows field employees to independently define problems and design AI tools. To this end, the company is opening an in-house platform and AX management system that can be used by non-developers, and will operate idea contests and step-by-step educational programs throughout the year. Based on existing application cases such as security coding verification automation and location analysis solutions, the company plans to pursue commercialization and company-wide expansion of key projects by the third quarter of this year.
2026.03.17by 배종인 기자
SKT Receives International Standard for AI Data Center Interconnection Structure… Establishes Operating System Standards
SK Telecom's proposed AI data center interworking architecture has received final approval as an international standard at the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) conference. The core of this standard is the classification of AI data centers into three layers—service, management, and infrastructure—and the organization of signaling requirements between layers. As AI service proliferation increases the importance of interworking among various systems within data centers such as computation, power, cooling, storage, and security, this standard is significant in that it presents a common architecture for operations and service delivery. SK Telecom stated that it initiated the relevant standardization project in 2024 and achieved this approval following approximately two years of discussion.
2026.03.18by 명세환 기자
