LG Electronics signs partnership with generative AI startup Upstage

Industry

Published: 06 Feb. 2024, 15:14

LG Electronics signs partnership with generative AI startup Upstage

LG Electronics' Gong Hyuk-joon, head of Customer Experience strategy in the IT division, right, and Upstage Vice President Choi Hong-joon pose for a photo after a signing ceremony at LG Twin Tower in western Seoul. [LG ELECTRONICS]

LG Electronics recently signed a partnership with Korean generative AI startup Upstage to advance on-device AI technologies, the electronics maker said on Tuesday.

The two parties will develop small language models (SLMs) for LG’s on-device AI features and AI services on LG notebooks through the deal.

SLMs are essentially smaller versions of large language models (LLMs) with fewer parameters.

LG Electronics will also utilize Upstage’s LLM Solar to advance cybersecurity, the company said.

The two companies will mainly focus on developing on-device AI features for the LG Gram series.

The LG Gram Pro, which the company unveiled in January, is equipped with Intel’s latest central processing unit (CPU) featuring a specialized neural processing unit (NPU) optimized for AI computations. One of the features highlighted in the newest notebook model is the LG Gram Link app, which allows easy sharing of photos and files between the notebook and Android or iOS devices.

LG Electronics CEO William Cho redefined AI as “Affectionate Intelligence” at CES 2024 in January and called for the company’s products to become “Responsible Intelligence” because user data is adequately protected.

The signing ceremony was held at LG Twin Tower building in Yeouido, western Seoul, with LG Electronics’ Gong Hyuk-joon, head of Customer Experience strategy in the IT division, and Upstage Vice President Choi Hong-joon.

“By jointly developing and implementing on-device AI technology, we anticipate providing even faster, more convenient and secure AI services,” said Upstage’s Choi. “We will do our best to apply the top-notch AI services to LG Gram, allowing customers worldwide to enjoy AI features with greater convenience.”

LG Electronics’ Gong said that with Upstage, the company will “actively target the next-generation AI notebook market.”

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