SK Telecom (SKT) joined the MIT GenAI Impact Consortium as a founding member with the aim to broaden the scope of its AI initiatives to cover next-generation research areas and verticals, such as manufacturing and biotechnology.

SKT CEO Ryu Young-sang (pictured) noted in a statement that by building on global collaborations, the company plans to share the AI capabilities of the SK Group, with the SK AI R&D Centre at its core, to drive AI innovation across industries.

The consortium is an industry-academia group designed to explore the impact of generative AI (genAI) technologies on society and industry, with the goal to provide practical direction to AI organisations. It plans to select key projects and start full-scale research this year.

Other founding members are OpenAI, Coca-Cola Co, Tata Group, Analog Devices and TWG Global.

Anantha Chandrakasan, dean of the MIT School of Engineering, its chief innovation and strategy officer and head of the consortium, stated that while genAI and large-language models (LLMs) are reshaping everything, the consortium “aims to break down barriers, bring together disciplines and commit to ensuring the benefits of generative AI are realised throughout the world”.

SKT is accelerating its transition to become an AI company by focusing its capabilities on AI data centres, AI contact centres and developing LLMs. In December, the operator outlined a major restructuring, reorganising into seven business divisions to strengthen competitiveness of its core telecoms and AI businesses.