Upstage, having completed its acquisition of Daum (AXZ) and the AI agent platform Timely, is set to expand beyond being an AI model company to establish a comprehensive AI ecosystem encompassing platforms and services.
During a media day event on June 16 at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, CEO Kim Seong-hoon announced the launch of 'Upstage Company,' which integrates Upstage, AXZ, and Timely. He stated, "Upstage started as a technology company focused on creating AI models, but now we will actively utilize Daum's B2C platform and Timely's B2B platform to create an AI era for everyone."
Kim noted that the generative AI market is rapidly transitioning from a 'chatbot' era to one dominated by 'AI agents' that perform actual tasks. He emphasized, "The era of chatting is over; we have entered a time where agents are used to accomplish work. Enhancing agent intelligence will be the key competitive advantage moving forward."
Upstage will focus on advancing AI models and enhancing agent capabilities. Kim revealed that the Solar Preview model scored 44.4 points according to the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (AAII). He added, "We aim for the 'Solar Open 2,' to be released at the end of this month, to exceed 45 points, and the commercial model set for July will target even higher performance, ensuring sufficient capability for agent use."
The corporate market will be managed by Timely, with CEO Kim Dae-hwan stating, "AI must become an asset for organizations. The ability for the entire organization to share and utilize chatbots and agents created by individuals will be a competitive advantage in this era."
Timely offers a platform that allows various AI models and agents to be used in a single environment, integrating AI necessary for tasks such as image and video generation and document processing into one service. It is currently utilized by over 600 public institutions and educational organizations nationwide, including Seoul City, Korail, and the Korea National Oil Corporation. Kim explained, "Timely supports organizational AI utilization through a cloud-based AI agent infrastructure."
Consumer services will be centered around Daum. AXZ CEO Lee Geon-soo remarked, "Daum is a platform that has accumulated news, expert content, and vast user data over 36 years. We will evolve into an agent."
He predicted that Daum's verified professional data in news, finance, and entertainment will be a competitive advantage in the AI era. Daum plans to leverage its daily news content of 30,000 to 50,000 articles, a 36-year news archive, 26 language dictionaries, and various vertical data for AI searches.
AXZ will launch AI search services 'AI Overview' and 'AI Mode' in July. When users input search terms, the AI will summarize key content and provide sources, allowing for follow-up questions. The plan is to develop a 'Search Agent' that combines vertical data from shopping, travel, dining, and finance to create an AI portal capable of handling reservations and purchases.
Lee stated, "In the AI era, search will undergo the most significant transformation. It will evolve from traditional keyword searches to understanding user intent and solving problems based on actual data."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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