SK invests $19 million in generative AI startup Upstage

SK Networks President & COO Choi Sung-hwan, left, poses for a photo at the investment signing ceremony with Upstage CEO Kim Seong-hoon during Choi's visit to CES 2024 in Las Vegas. [SK NETWORKS]

SK Networks signed a sales and purchase agreement to invest 25 billion won ($19 million) in the Korean AI startup Upstage, betting on the startup's generative AI capabilities and growth potential.

The decision positions the trading and ICT distribution affiliate of SK as the largest investor in Upstage's series B funding round.

Upstage specializes in private large language models (LLM), for tailored search services and document processing. Upstage introduced an AI chatbot service based on OpenAI’s GPT-4 language model called AskUp.

“The decision to invest was based on considerations such as Upstage's technological capabilities, growth potential in the AI industry and possible synergies with headquarters and other investors,” SK Networks said in a news release Friday.

Upstage will likely tap into SK Networks' global network for international expansion. The domestic AI startup says it has discussed potential collaborations with American companies during CES 2024, SK Networks said.

Moreover, SK Networks expects to create synergy with En-core, a local data solutions and consulting company, which it acquired in October.

“En-core and Upstage share a common business area in providing customers with optimized cutting-edge solutions,” the company said. “We anticipate a technology integration between En-core's data management service and Upstage's private LLM.”

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]