Kakao Brain unveils image-generating AI model

Kakao Brain, the artificial intelligence technology research and development subsidiary of Kakao, said Wednesday it has launched its second AI model that self-generates images, allowing the company to quickly expand its presence in Korea’s mammoth AI space. The AI model, dubbed “minDALL-E,” creates images the users wish to see, according to the company. For instance, when users type in requests such as “draw a picture in a Salvador Dali style” or “create an

Dec. 15, 2021

LG debuts hyperscale AI Exaone

LG Group’s AI research hub LG AI Research on Tuesday unveiled its new “ultra-large” artificial intelligence language model Exaone that boasts more parameters than any other similar models created by its South Korean rivals. Exaone, which refers to “expert AI for everyone,” has some 300 billion different parameters or variables that it can tune in. Being large means that the AI model has a better capacity to process data more efficiently and perform more advanced l

Dec. 14, 2021

Dyson’s formaldehyde-busting air purifiers hit Seoul

UK-based home appliance maker Dyson said Tuesday it started selling its air purifiers equipped with technologies to sense and destroy indoor air pollutants including formaldhyde more precisely in South Korea. Its new fanless air purifiers feature algorithm-powered, solid-state formaldehyde sensors that distinguish the colorless gas pollutant from other volatile organic compounds. Dyson said the solid-state sensor, using electrochemical cell technology, is superior to gel-based sensors in that

Dec. 14, 2021

LG Energy Solution, Siemens team up for smart manufacturing

LG Energy Solution, the battery-making unit of LG Group, said Tuesday it has joined forces with German industrial giant Siemens to upgrade its battery plants into more advanced smart factories. Under a deal signed earlier in the day, the battery firm agreed to adopt Siemens’ software and other technologies to build an “intelligent manufacturing system.” Intelligent manufacturing, or smart manufacturing, is designed to optimize energy efficiency and quality control at product

Dec. 14, 2021

[Market Eye] Will Samsung’s anti-OLED campaign end with imminent panel deal?

The market is closely watching Samsung Electronics’ possible move to diversify its panel supplier list amid circulating rumors that the South Korean tech giant is even mulling a deal with its archrival’s panel-making arm for large flat-screen televisions. According to rumors and reports, Samsung is considering placing orders for white organic light-emitting diode panels from LG Display, with which it has locked horns for a long time over who has the technological edge, and that its

Dec. 13, 2021

Robotics stocks surge on Samsung’s new team

Shares of robotics tech firms surged Monday following news reports that Samsung Electronics is setting up a new team solely dedicated to the robotics business, one of the frequently-cited new growth engines for the Korean tech giant. Yujin Robot, one of the first-generation robotics companies here with more than 30 years of history, saw a 30 percent jump in its stock price and was trading at 4,150 won ($3.52) as of 2 p.m., as investors cheered for its business potential with Samsung, the natio

Dec. 13, 2021

Samsung’s Bespoke water purifier becomes first to remove microplastics

Samsung Electronics said Monday its Bespoke water purifier, whose trade name is RWPaxy1bcde(z), has been certified by NSF International, a US-based product testing and certification organization, for removing microplastics from water – an industry first globally. Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic, less than 5 micrometers in length, that are extremely difficult to detect. They are known to cause harmful effects to human body, including cell death and allergic reactions. NSF Intern

Dec. 13, 2021

Samsung names mobile, appliance business DX, promotes robotics as future growth driver

Samsung Electronics Co. named its newly merged unit for mobile and appliances the device experience (DX) division, the company has said, in a sign of its resolve to provide its customers with new, meaningful experiences. Last week, the tech giant announced it had merged the consumer electronics and IT and mobile communications divisions, and named a new CEO, Han Jong-hee, a former head of the visual display business, to lead the new division. The new name shows Samsung's "ongoing commitme

Dec. 13, 2021

'PUBG: Battlegrounds' to be free to play in Jan.

Krafton Inc., a South Korean gaming giant, said Friday that its global smash hit "PUBG: Battlegrounds" will be going free to play starting next month. The game will start a free-to-play mode on all platforms, including computers and consoles, on Jan. 12, 2022, to enable more people to enjoy the battle royale style game, Krafton said. The global-hit game, in which users fight to remain the last person alive, launched in 2017 as a paid game. It has quickly gained global popularity, s

Dec. 10, 2021

Samsung's Lee returns from UAE amid expectation of 5G partnership

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong returned to Seoul on Thursday, ending a three-day trip to the United Arab Emirates involving a “small meeting.” “I had a small meeting in Abu Dhabi,” Lee told reporters as he arrived in Seoul, referring to a capital of the UAE. “It was a good opportunity, because experts from around the world in various fields got together to learn how each country or each industry stands ready for the future.” The de facto le

Dec. 9, 2021

'Squid Game' 9th most searched keyword on Google in 2021

South Korean megahit “Squid Game” ranked as the No. 9 most-searched keyword by worldwide users on Google this year, Google Korea said Thursday. No. 1 on the list of most searched terms was “Australia vs. India,” referring to cricket matches between the two countries. “India vs. England” took second, followed by “IPL,” which stands for the Indian Premier League. Among the TV shows searched on Google worldwide, the Korean drama series was the mos

Dec. 9, 2021

LG CNS joins hands with Fujitsu for optimization consulting

South Korean information technology solutions company LG CNS said Thursday it has teamed up with Japanese counterpart Fujitsu to strengthen its mathematical optimization consulting capacity to improve client services. LG CNS and Fujitsu‘s Korean unit has recently signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an optimization algorithm that runs on Fujitsu’s digital annealer computational architecture. Fujitsu‘s digital annealer is a quantum computing-inspired technology to s

Dec. 9, 2021

Huawei to stay committed to Korean business despite uncertainties

Despite the global supply disruption due to a chip shortage and supply bottleneck, coupled with sanctions imposed by the United States, Huawei Technologies will continue to stay committed to its South Korean partners, executives of the Chinese tech giant in Seoul said Wednesday evening. “While there are still many uncertainties on the road ahead of us, Huawei will remain open and collaborative,” Karl Song, the vice president of Huawei in charge of corporate communications, in a prer

Dec. 9, 2021

Samsung ranks 4th on global digital inclusion index

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday that it was ranked 4th out of the top 150 global tech companies in an index that gauged corporate efforts in using technology ethically and for reducing digital inequality overall. The Korean tech giant’s ranking soared from last year’s 10th position from the World Benchmarking Alliance’s Digital Inclusion Benchmark, topping all of its Asian peers. The WBA is a global alliance of more than 200 global, regional and local organizations that

Dec. 8, 2021

Ministry announces guideline on stable online services by Netflix, Google

The Ministry of Science and ICT on Tuesday unveiled a guideline on a revised law requiring Netflix and other tech giants to improve their online service quality. Last December, South Korea passed a law revision holding online content service providers accountable if they fail to maintain stable services amid growing complaints against streaming giants Netflix and Google after their services experienced a number of outages. The revised law, informally dubbed the "Netflix law" in the c

Dec. 7, 2021

Samsung Electronics CFO tapped to lead Samsung’s battery arm

Choi Yoon-ho, the chief financial officer of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics widely known to be close to its de facto leader Lee Jae-yong, was named Tuesday as the new chief executive officer of Samsung SDI, a Samsung affiliate dedicated to manufacturing batteries and display panel parts. The 58-year-old currently heads Samsung Electronics’ corporate management office, which encompasses its corporate finance, corporate strategy, human resources, corporate communications, globa

Dec. 7, 2021

LG CNS launches service for corporate migration to metaverse

South Korean information technology service firm LG CNS said Tuesday that it had launched a virtual office service by teaming up with Japanese firm oVice, a move to capitalize on metaverse technology to address demand for pandemic-friendly remote work environments. LG CNS will play a role in migrating corporate clients’ work environment online, allowing the clients’ employees to do everyday tasks such as exchanging emails and receiving notifications or checking schedules. Employees

Dec. 7, 2021

S. Koreans' spending on Disney+ hits over W17b in Nov.: data

South Koreans are estimated to have spent more than 17 billion won ($14.5 million) in purchasing contents by Disney+ less than a month since its launch here, data showed Tuesday. Payments to Disney+ in the country were estimated at 17.2 billion won for November, according to industry tracker WiseApp, which analyzed credit and debit card data of those aged 20 or over. WiseApp added that the data excludes other payment methods, such as those through telecom operators. Disney+, the flagship stre

Dec. 7, 2021

Samsung's Lee Jae-yong leaves for Middle East

Samsung’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong left for the United Arab Emirates on Monday at around 10 p.m. ahead of scheduled meetings in the Middle East region. Lee told reporters he would be returning to South Korea on Thursday, and did not elaborate on details about the trip. Lee’s visit to the Middle East comes more than two years after the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics’ February 2019 meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. A few months

Dec. 6, 2021

'Metaverse is about seeing things in more integrated way'

Metaverse, a shared virtual world where people can interact with others through avatars, has been the talk of the town in the second half of this year. While some doubt metaverse will be able to take off or see it as just another marketing strategy, others seem to believe it is the next giant leap in information technology. Regardless of the perceptual divide, Kim Beom-joo, head of evangelism at graphics developer Unity Korea, says the coming of the virtual platform was inevitable and its ar

Dec. 6, 2021