SK Telecom acquires stake in AI customer service developer

[SK TELECOM]

Korean telecom carrier SK Telecom acquired an undisclosed stake in Persona AI, a local AI-utilizing customer service developer, becoming its third largest shareholder.

The acquisition is intended to strengthen SK Telecom's AI Contact Center (AICC) business, which incorporates various AI-related technologies such as automated responses, data analysis and speech recognition in customer service or support centers to improve communications.

SK Telecom did not publicly disclose how much it invested and the stake it acquired.

Persona AI was the first Korean company to launch subscription-based AICC services based on its self-developed natural language processing engine. Financial firms such as KB Financial Group and Hanwha General Insurance are some of the business-to-business clients utilizing Persona AI’s services.

SKT said in a statement that it will release new AI-related products with Persona AI from Kiosks and robots which can recognize human speech.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]