LG Uplus Partners with Startups to Boost AI Agent “ixi” Under New CEO Leadership

LG Uplus, based in South Korea, has revealed plans to collaborate with local startups to improve its AI agent, “ixi.” It is the latest crucial under the newly appointed CEO, Hong Bum-shik. The company shared that Hong’s inaugural official event since taking office in November 2024 was attending the “Shift” demo day, a program dedicated to identifying and supporting emerging startups.

This collaboration with startups aims to push LG Uplus’s ongoing efforts to drive artificial intelligence (AI) innovation.

At the “Shift” demo day, CEO Hong highlighted LG Uplus’s dedication to promoting innovation through collaboration. He stressed the company’s goal of becoming the most trusted partner for startups, emphasizing that the Shift program is crucial in discovering promising AI technology firms. Hong explained that the program would help drive technological innovation via meaningful partnerships and collaborations, which is crucial for advancing the AI landscape.

The Shift program supports promising university research teams and startups, offering them opportunities to secure external funding and explore potential technological partnerships with LG Uplus. The demo day event saw over 100 attendees, including venture capitalists, university tech fund representatives, and startup leaders, providing a platform for startups to present their innovations and attract vital investments.

In 2024, eight startups were chosen for the program where they attempted to integrate their technologies into LG Uplus’s AI agent, ixi. Notable participants included Squeezebits, Technomatrix, Trillion Labs, and Aim Intelligence in areas such as software operations, AI transformation, and AX-based technologies. In the AI agent sector, key contributors were Lemong, Omelet, Fairy, and Toggle Campus.

LG Uplus plans to support these companies by providing them with access to ixi’s APIs, infrastructure, and business acceleration programs. The company is also considering long-term collaborations and potential equity investments.

CEO Hong’s leadership, which has focused on advancing the AI-integrated platform ‘ixi,’ is further reflected in LG Uplus’s organizational changes. The company has established an ‘AI Agent Promotion Group’ to drive its AI transformation and improve its AI services. This includes the creation of specialized teams, such as the ‘Mobile Agent Tribe’ and ‘Home Agent Tribe,’ focused on developing AI services for consumers. Additionally, LG Uplus has strengthened its support for technical and human resource development with new initiatives under the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHO).

During the demo day, the selected startups presented their technologies to potential investors and outlined plans for commercialization in partnership with LG Uplus. The company also committed to covering the costs incurred during the collaboration process, reinforcing its commitment to supporting the startups. CEO Hong emphasized that combining cutting-edge technology with a deep understanding of customer needs is key to delivering exceptional experiences. He expressed optimism that the synergy between LG Uplus’s technological expertise and the creativity of startups would create new opportunities for innovation.

LG Uplus’s AI platform, ixi, offers several key services, including sports game outcome prediction, AI Contact Center (AICC) call bots for customer support, and an AICC service for small business owners. The company also launched ‘ixi-GEN,’ a generative AI model based on LG AI Research’s EXAONE, trained using LG Uplus’s telecommunications and platform data. This small language model (sLLM) is expanding into the business-to-business (B2B) sector, further advancing the company’s AI capabilities.