This photo provided by LG Corp. on Dec. 7, 2020, shows Bae Kyung-hoon, chief of LG AI Research, speaking at the online opening ceremony of LG Group’s AI research hub.
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — LG Group, South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate, said Monday it has established an artificial intelligence (AI) research hub to explore growth opportunities and secure future technologies related with human-like algorithms.
LG AI Research is joined by 16 affiliates of LG Group, including LG Electronics Inc. and LG Chem Ltd., to study AI solutions. The group will invest 200 billion won (US$ 184 million) in the center’s research and development (R&D) projects and recruitment of global talents in the next three years.
“LG’s pursuit of AI is aimed at making people’s lives more valuable beyond technology,” said LG Group chief Koo Kwang-mo. “We will give our support so that it can serve as the center of the global ecosystem.”
The AI think tank, which will be managed under the LG Management Development Institute, will research various AI technologies, from deep learning-based natural language processing to big data analysis.
LG expects its AI center to help solve problems related with their affiliates’ businesses, including calculating life expectancy for rechargeable batteries and discovering new drug material candidates.
LG said Bae Kyung-hoon, previously the head of the AI division at LG Sciencepark, will lead the AI research unit, while Lee Hong-lak, a computer engineering professor at the University of Michigan, will serve as its chief scientist of AI (CSAI).
LG AI Research plans to expand its research workforce to 100 by next year. LG said the center will run training programs for group employees so that it can foster 1,000 AI experts by 2023.
(Yonhap)
