SK Telecom, South Korea's leading telecommunications carrier, said Wednesday that it will host a hackathon event with California-based startup OpenAI next month in Seoul to discover talent who are likely to lead the future artificial intelligence industry.

Prompter Day Seoul 2023 will run under the theme of developing services that can help humanity through AI. Planners, developers and designers who are interested in generative AIs can participate in the competition to develop services and business models.

Participants can use OpenAI models, including ChatGPT, for development during the competition. Those who wish to participate can submit their applications by Sept. 3.

James Dyett, head of Strategic Accounts at OpenAI; Jung Seok-geun, head of the global/AI Tech business unit at SK Telecom; and Noh Jung-seok, CEO of B-Factory, will participate in the upcoming hackathon as judges. Oh Hye-yeon, a professor at Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, is scheduled to attend the event as a speaker.

Participants can also receive mentoring support from a mentor group composed of AI experts and use the hackathon as a networking opportunity.

After the preliminary online round on Sept. 16 and 17, the main round will take place at Dreamplus Gangnam in southern Seoul on Sept. 23 and 24. Various programs such as competitions, presentations, awards ceremonies, panel speeches and networking sessions are planned for the main round.

The total prize money is 100 million won ($74,780), with 40 million won awarded to the grand prize winner. Winners of the runner-up prize and above will be exempt from the first round of screening when applying for the SKT Junior Talent recruitment.

Both SK Teleom and OpenAI plan to review joint service development and commercialization for excellent ideas discovered through the competition.

“It is a great honor to be able to see what kind of future AI will draw in Korea and around the world through the development of beneficial and safe AI technology,” said OpenAI’s COO Brad Lightcap. “Through the Prompter Day, we’ll be able to confirm new ideas, challenges and services.”

SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang said, “We hope to discover many promising players who will lead the future AI industry through the global AI hackathon. … Based on our partnership with OpenAI, we will work to revitalize the global AI ecosystem.”