Mobile Carriers and Kakao Join "AI for Everyone" Project Bid, Naver Opts Out

SK Telecom Forms Consortium with ELICE Group and LINER
KT Collaborates with Upstage and Motif
LG Uplus Works with LG AI Research and the One LG Team
Two or Three Providers to Be Selected by Month-End...
Service Launch Planned Within the Year

Major mobile carriers SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus, along with Kakao and other companies, have applied to participate in the "AI for Everyone" project, which provides free nationwide AI services using domestically developed artificial intelligence models. The government aims to select service providers by the end of August, launch a beta service by the end of September, and officially roll out the service in December.

According to industry sources on August 18, applications for the AI for Everyone project closed at 5 p.m. that day, with Kakao, SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus each forming consortiums to join the competition. Meanwhile, Naver Cloud, which had been considering participation, ultimately decided not to join.

The AI for Everyone project is led by private companies with experience in developing nationwide services and aims to provide free AI services tailored to public needs. Unlike global AI companies that prompt users to switch to paid plans after a certain amount of usage, this project will allow users to utilize essential AI features without usage limits.

Selected companies must use domestically developed AI models that meet independent foundation model standards for at least 50% of their service. In addition, they must incorporate other domestic AI models from third parties for at least 30% of the service. If necessary for service operations, limited use of foreign AI models is permitted, though any usage of foreign models will not be eligible for government support.

Naver Cloud and Naver, once considered strong candidates, have decided not to participate in the AI for Everyone project. Naver Cloud explained that it chose to focus on other business ventures in which it is currently involved.

Kakao, which initially expressed interest in the project, has formed a consortium with other firms. However, the composition of the consortium has not been disclosed yet.

SK Telecom is entering the competition by leveraging its "A.DOT X K2" model, which passed the second stage evaluation of the independent AI foundation model project. SK Telecom's consortium centers around AI full-stack company ELICE Group and AI search and agent company LINER, as well as other AI firms.

KT has formed a consortium with partners such as Upstage and Motif Technologies, both of which have prior experience with independent foundation model projects. KT's own AI model "Mit:eum" is joined by Upstage's "Solar" and Motif Technologies' "Motif." A KT representative emphasized, "We will actively contribute to ensure that Korean AI meaningfully supports the daily lives of citizens and that everyone can enjoy reliable and accessible AI services."

LG Uplus, similarly, is collaborating with LG AI Research—a participant that passed the second stage foundation model evaluation—and will combine group capabilities from model development to service and platform operation, based on the "One LG" cooperation framework.

The government will select two or three participants for the AI for Everyone project following evaluations by the end of August. The selection process involves verifying eligibility and conducting both document and presentation evaluations to choose the companies with the highest scores.

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to sign agreements with the final companies in September, launch a beta service at the end of September, and begin official operation of the AI for Everyone chatbot service in December. In addition, a public AI agent that notifies users of and allows applications for public services will also be provided via AI for Everyone. After 2027, the government plans to further enhance AI agents.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.