Naver (035420.KS) has decided not to take part in "AI for All," a government project to build a free artificial intelligence chatbot for the entire population.
"Naver will not join the open bidding for the 'AI for All' project," a Naver official said on the 18th, adding that the company "plans to focus on the existing AI business it is currently pursuing." Ahead of the bidding deadline at 5 p.m. that day, Naver had weighed options including forming a consortium until the last moment, but ultimately concluded it would not participate.
Kakao (035720.KS), by contrast, confirmed its participation in the "AI for All" project early on. Its strategy is to use the project as a springboard to expand its in-house AI model "Kanana" into a public-facing service. The company did not disclose details of its consortium lineup, however.
The three telecom carriers — SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus — and EastSoft, which had taken part in the earlier "Independent AI Foundation Model" project, are also entering the project by forming consortiums. Among them, KT has teamed up with Upstage, Motif Technologies and others in a consortium.
Some in the industry say the absence of Naver, the country's No. 1 platform operator, could somewhat weaken the momentum behind the project. Analysts note that, unlike the Independent AI Foundation Model project, which put homegrown foundation model development front and center, "AI for All" drew relatively little attention from the early stages of the open bidding.
Under the "AI for All" bidding requirements, participating companies must apply their own homegrown AI models that meet the Independent AI Foundation Model standards to at least 50% of the service. They must also incorporate homegrown models from other domestic companies to at least 30%, making consortiums among multiple companies essential. As a result, attention is focused on the alliances forming among participating companies.
