At the Mobile World Congress 2025, LG Uplus announced a strategic partnership with Google to integrate the tech giant’s artificial intelligence model, Gemini, into LG Uplus’ AI agent, ixi O. The collaboration aims to enhance the AI assistant’s capabilities and drive global expansion.

“Google approached LG Uplus with a proposal to merge Gemini with ixi O for international market expansion,” LG Uplus CEO Hong Bum-shik said in a press conference in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday. “Our shared objective is to achieve about $300 million in revenue from this year to 2028.”

With Gemini’s integration, ixi O is expected to evolve into an “actionable AI” with sophisticated analysis, summarization and recommendation functionalities, LG Uplus said.

Hong highlighted the uniqueness of this partnership, noting that Google typically codevelops technologies and allows partners to handle sales while taking a share of the revenue.

“It is rare for Google to engage in a ‘go-to-market’ strategy like this,” he said. “By combining Gemini with ixi O, we see the potential to expand globally.”

Beyond its partnership with Google, LG Uplus is also in discussions with Amazon Web Services for AI cloud-related collaborations in three key areas: sovereign AI, AI contact centers and enterprise AI consulting services.

Additionally, Japan’s telecom giant KDDI has proposed AI collaboration, which is currently under review by the Korean telecom carrier.

Hong expressed his ambition for LG Uplus to establish itself as a frontrunner in the AI sector.

“We may be a latecomer in the telecommunications industry, but we aim to become a first mover in the AI era,” the CEO said. “Our enterprise business will shift from conventional infrastructure-based solutions to a Software-as-a-Service model, allowing us to take the lead in enterprise software solutions.”

LG Uplus said the key focus of its AI strategy is security. Hong introduced the company’s “4A” framework -- Assure, Adaptive, Accompanied and Altruistic -- with “Assured Intelligence” as the foundation.

Unlike most companies that treat security as a final checkpoint when launching new services, LG Uplus plans to build AI security from the ground up.

Hong also underscored the importance of global competition over domestic rivalry.

“Rather than merely comparing ourselves to local competitors, we must position ourselves against global players,” he said. “Instead of focusing solely on growing domestic revenue, we are committed to achieving meaningful and sustainable profit growth.”

By Jie Ye-eun (yeeun@heraldcorp.com)