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.
Sung-hoon Kim, CEO of Upstage, announced the launch of "Upstage Company," which will integrate Upstage, Daum's operating company AXZ, and the AI agent platform Timely during a media day event on June 16 at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul. 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 the era of chatbots to that of AI agents performing actual tasks. He emphasized, "The era of chatting is over; we have entered a time where we utilize agents to get work done. 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, "The 'Solar Open 2', which will be released at the end of this month, aims for a score of over 45, and the commercial model set to launch in July is being developed to achieve even higher performance, ensuring sufficient capability for agent usage."
The corporate market will be managed by Timely, which Upstage recently acquired. Kim Dae-hwan, CEO of Timely, remarked, "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. It integrates AI needed for tasks such as image and video generation and document processing into one service. Currently, it is utilized by over 600 public institutions and educational organizations across the country, 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. Lee Geon-soo, CEO of AXZ, stated, "Daum is a platform that has accumulated news, expert content, and vast user data over 36 years," and added, "We will evolve into an agent."
He predicted that the verified professional data Daum possesses in news, finance, and entertainment will be a competitive advantage in the AI era. Daum plans to leverage its daily news content, which ranges from 30,000 to 50,000 articles, a 36-year news archive, a dictionary in 26 languages, and various vertical data for AI search.
AXZ will introduce AI search services called 'AI Overview' and 'AI Mode' in July. When users input search terms, the AI will summarize key information 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 noted, "In the AI era, search will undergo the most significant transformation," stating that 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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