SK Telecom is stepping into the crowded artificial intelligence market with a new digital assistant that promises to handle everything from meal planning to travel arrangements, as South Korea’s largest wireless carrier looks to expand beyond its home turf.
The company introduced “Aster,” an AI agent that will first target North American users in 2025 following beta testing this year. The move puts SK Telecom in direct competition with tech giants like Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc., which are racing to deploy AI assistants globally.
SK Telecom’s head of Global/AI Tech Business Division, Jeong Seok-geun, said the company developed Aster after identifying shortcomings in existing AI services. The assistant is designed to manage multi-step tasks – like planning dinner parties by suggesting recipes and creating shopping lists – rather than just answering simple queries.
To boost its AI capabilities, the Korean telecom provider has formed partnerships with various companies, including search platform Perplexity. The company plans to integrate third-party apps and additional language models, though specific details about these collaborations weren’t disclosed.
The launch reflects SK Telecom’s broader strategy to diversify revenue streams beyond its traditional telecommunications business, where growth has plateaued in recent years.
