Anthropic, a Google LLC-backed AI research startup, has announced securing an additional $100 million in funding from SK Telecom, a major South Korean telecommunications company. The primary objective of this funding is to establish tailored AI systems, based on large language models (LLMs), specifically catered to the telecom sector.
This investment follows a substantial funding round in May, where Anthropic amassed $450 million, with participation from SKT’s venture capital division. Crunchbase data indicates that Anthropic has successfully garnered more than $1.5 billion in funding since commencing its fundraising efforts in 2021.
SK Telecom and Anthropic are poised to collaborate on the development of specialized LLM AI models targeted at the telecommunications industry. These models are anticipated to alleviate telecom companies from the need to independently devise, customize, and train AI solutions. The mutual understanding involves the creation of a multilingual LLM capable of supporting various languages, including Korean, English, German, Arabic, and Spanish.
This strategic partnership aligns with SK Telecom’s recent announcement of the establishment of the Global Telco AI Alliance. This alliance, formed in conjunction with Deutsche Telekom AG, Emirates Telecommunications Group Co., and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., intends to collectively invest in the advancement of a Telco AI Platform, which will be bolstered by Anthropic’s multilingual LLM technology.
SK Telecom is rapidly morphing into an AI company as it witnessed significant growth in its second-quarter earnings, mainly driven by artificial intelligence, data center, and cloud business.
