Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic has secured $100 million in funding from SK Telecom (SKT), a major player in the South Korean telecommunications sector. This strategic investment marks a significant move in the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI and has the potential to reshape the telecommunications industry. The partnership between Anthropic and SKT will revolve around the development of a multilingual large language model tailored for global telco firms, ushering in a new era of AI-powered innovation in the telecommunications domain.

This funding comes on the heels of Anthropic’s Series C funding round in which it raised an impressive $450 million, led by Spark Capital. Notably, SKT was already involved in the Series C funding through its venture capital arm, SK Telecom Venture Capital (SKTVC). This strategic investment underscores SKT’s commitment to being at the forefront of AI advancements and leveraging Anthropic’s expertise to fuel transformative changes within the telecommunications sector.

Anthropic’s co-founder and chief science officer, Jared Kaplan, will steer the customisation of the multilingual LLM and the subsequent product roadmap, solidifying Anthropic’s pivotal role in this partnership. Dario Amodei, co-founder and CEO of Anthropic, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, “SKT has incredible ambitions to use AI to transform the telco industry. We’re excited to combine our AI expertise with SKT’s industry knowledge to build an LLM that is customized for telcos.”

The resultant LLM, co-developed by SKT and Anthropic, is set to empower four members of the Global Telco AI Alliance—Deutsche Telekom, e&, Singtel, and SKT itself—to deliver AI-driven solutions tailored to their respective markets and users. This multilingual LLM is slated to support an array of languages, including English, Korean, German, Japanese, Arabic, and Spanish, effectively bridging language barriers and enabling more efficient and personalized AI-driven services.

Steering Changes in Telecom

SKT’s involvement in the Global Telco AI Alliance further solidifies its position as a key player in shaping the AI landscape within the telecommunications sector. By collaborating with Anthropic and harnessing its AI prowess, SKT aims to position itself at the forefront of AI-driven transformations in the industry. Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SKT, remarked, “By combining our Korean language-based LLM with Anthropic’s strong AI capabilities, we expect to create synergy and gain leadership in the AI ecosystem with our global telco partners.”

Conclusively, SKT’s substantial investment in Anthropic exemplifies its dedication to staying ahead in the dynamic field of AI. This partnership is set to redefine the telecommunications industry’s trajectory by fostering AI-driven innovations tailored to diverse linguistic and market needs. The collaboration between Anthropic and SKT stands as a testament to the potential of AI to reshape industries and underscores the growing significance of tailored AI solutions in today’s technological landscape.

Anthropic, founded in 2021, is the driving force behind Claude, an AI system designed to streamline various tasks within corporations, ranging from generating answers and automating workflows to coding and processing natural language. This innovation mirrors OpenAI’s ChatGPT, enhancing corporate efficiency through the seamless integration of AI technologies. Claude’s application in the telco industry will encompass specific areas such as customer service, marketing, sales, and interactive consumer applications, amplifying its utility and relevance.

Anthropic also launched Claude 2 in July. Its predecessor was confined to enterprise usage, however, Claude 2 marks a transition to greater accessibility by extending its services to the general public in the United States and the United Kingdom. Unlike its forerunner, Claude 2 stands apart by adopting a dual approach for accessibility—through a beta website and an API. This strategic move not only broadens Anthropic’s user base but also establishes a clear distinction between the two iterations of Claude, further underlining Anthropic’s commitment to democratising AI.