SKT's 'A dot' vs. LG U+'s 'ixi-O'... The Battle for AI Ecosystem Expansion Begins

[Korea Financial Times, Kim JaeHun] SK Telecom (CEO Yoo Young-sang, hereinafter SKT) and LG Uplus (CEO Hong Beom-sik) are ramping up their competition to expand their AI assistant ecosystems. SKT’s ‘A dot (A.)’, which has already taken an early lead in the market, is focusing on enhancing profitability by accelerating its global expansion, including its launch in North America. Meanwhile, LG Uplus, a later entrant with its AI agent ‘ixi-O’, has announced new partnerships with Google and the Middle Eastern telecom giant Zain Group at MWC25, signaling its plans for global expansion and ecosystem growth.

At a press conference during MWC25 in Barcelona, Spain, on March 4 (local time), LG Uplus President Hong Beom-sik unveiled the company’s new AI vision, the ‘4A (Assured, Adaptive, Accompanied, Altruistic) Intelligence Strategy,’ and discussed ixi-O’s global expansion.

Hong stated "At this year’s MWC25, not only major U.S. big tech firms but also telecom operators like Japan’s KDDI and the Middle East’s Zain Group have shown great interest in ixi-O" and, "I believe we will soon have an opportunity to announce meaningful achievements."

On March 3, LG Uplus had already announced an all-encompassing AI collaboration with Google, emphasizing plans to enhance ixi-O’s services while simultaneously preparing for global expansion. Initially, ixi-O will leverage Google’s AI model ‘Gemini’ to refine call context analysis, improve call summarization, and offer AI-powered recommendations for user actions.

Moving forward, both companies plan to evolve ixi-O from its existing services—such as call recording and summarization, voice phishing protection—into an ‘Actionable AI’ that comprehends user needs and suggests personalized actions, aiming for a competitive presence in the global market.

ixi-O’s global push took another step forward on March 5 with a strategic partnership with Zain Group, a leading Middle Eastern telecom company. Through this collaboration, LG Uplus and Zain Group will work together to launch ixi-O in Zain’s markets. Zain Group plans to integrate ixi-O’s on-device AI capabilities—including real-time voice phishing detection, visual call assistance, call recording and summarization, and post-call search suggestions—to enhance its telecom services’ competitiveness.

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Kuwait, Zain Group operates telecom services across five Middle Eastern countries (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, and Jordan) and three African nations (Morocco, Sudan, and South Sudan).

LG Uplus also announced plans to expand ixi-O beyond Apple’s iPhone to include Android devices, such as Samsung’s Galaxy series. This move is aimed at reaching a broader range of mobile ecosystem users.

"Given the positive reception from domestic users, I believe the addition of new features in the Android version will further amplify interest in ixi-O, both domestically and internationally," Hong added.

Meanwhile, SKT’s A dot (A.), which had previously announced its global expansion, showcased various services at MWC25, making a strong impression on consumers. SKT CEO Yoo Young-sang emphasized that A dot’s service enhancement and global expansion would be key to AI monetization this year.

A dot (A.), an AI agent with 8.9 million domestic subscribers and 7.4 million monthly active users (MAU), aims to solidify its position as Korea’s leading AI agent by continuously enhancing its services. The company plans to refine its AI call summarization feature—a key offering—and expand its functionality to include document processing and network management. Additionally, Adot will evolve into an AI agent capable of proactively suggesting solutions and seamlessly completing user requests, such as searches and reservations, to enhance AI-driven user experiences.

SKT is also set to expand its ecosystem with the global version of A dot, ‘Aster (A*)’, and its B2B (business-to-business) solution ‘A dot (A.) Biz’.

Aster (A*), which is scheduled for a U.S. launch this year, will expand globally through partnerships with major telecom operators, including those in the Global Telco AI Alliance, led by SKT. At an MWC roundtable event, CEO Yoo highlighted SKT’s collaboration with Deutsche Telekom, e& Group, Singtel, and SoftBank under the Global Telco AI Alliance to develop a telecom-specific large language model (LLM) and create AI-driven synergies based on economies of scale.

Meanwhile, SKT and SK C&C are co-developing ‘A dot (A.) Biz,’ an AI B2B agent, which will be rolled out internally within SK Group’s 21 members following internal beta testing, marking SKT’s full-scale entry into the AI B2B market.

A dot (A.) Biz is available in two versions: ‘A dot Biz,’ which enhances everyday work functions such as meeting room reservations, note-taking, and analysis, and ‘A dot Biz Pro,’ which offers specialized features for sectors like taxation, legal affairs, and human resources.

Kim JaeHun (rlqm93@fntimes.com)