South Korea's telecommunications giant KT Corp. said Monday it will provide US$450 million worth of network and data center infrastructure to Microsoft Corp. over the next 15 years as part of their partnership for artificial intelligence. The collaboration, which also includes KT's cloud service unit, KT Cloud Co., follows a strategic partnership signed last Friday (U.S. time) to advance AI, according to the Korean company in a filing. Through the partnership, KT and Microsoft will jointly develop new AI models tailored to Korean language and culture, leveraging Open AI's GPT 4o and Microsoft's Phi over the next five years. The companies also aim to introduce new cloud services catering to Korean corporate customers in the public and financial sectors, both of which are highly sensitive to regulatory and security requirements. KT plans to establish a new company focused on AI transformation, offering customized AI solutions based on KT's IT capabilities and Microsoft's cloud platform. The KT-Microsoft p artnership will also include joint research projects with Microsoft Research, aimed at advancing AI technologies and future network innovations globally. "This partnership with Microsoft is not just a technical collaboration but a significant opportunity to expand the AI base in Korea and advance breakthrough innovations in all industries and daily life," KT CEO Kim Young-shub said. Source: Yonhap News Agency