LG Uplus will introduce a series of overseas artificial intelligence services that have been hard to access in South Korea through its subscription platform Yudok. The move reflects a strategy to secure global AI services as new subscription products as the market expands beyond content such as streaming video into generative AI and productivity tools.
LG Uplus said on the 6th that it is partnering with Bango, a global subscription platform company, to expand its lineup of overseas AI and content services.
The two companies will connect overseas AI services to Yudok using Bango's subscription integration platform, the Digital Vending Machine. The DVM links digital service providers with telecom carriers and platform companies, allowing multiple subscription services to be distributed through a single platform.
LG Uplus plans to use the system to shorten the process of signing contracts with new overseas services, integrating systems and launching products. The goal is to let users sign up for and manage AI services through Yudok, rather than visiting foreign websites to register and pay separately.
The first product will launch in November. LG Uplus will begin with an overseas AI video editing service on Yudok and then broaden its lineup to include generative AI, productivity AI and creative AI. The company will also seek out overseas services that are not yet widely known in South Korea or that are cumbersome to subscribe to individually.
The two companies also agreed to cooperate on integrating new subscription services and designing bundled products, in addition to sourcing AI and content services. Bango will tap its global service network to secure overseas services, while LG Uplus will package them into subscription products suited to domestic users.
LG Uplus is expanding its AI subscription offerings because demand is shifting quickly from streaming and content toward AI tools that support work and creative tasks. Yudok currently offers Google AI Pro along with AI services for search, design, video editing and education. It also runs Yudok Pick AI, which lets customers choose among several AI products.
"Customer demand for subscriptions is expanding rapidly beyond content into AI and productivity services," said Cho Yong-sung, executive director of partnership business at LG Uplus. "We will strengthen Yudok's competitiveness in AI subscriptions so that domestic customers can use a wide range of global AI services more easily and conveniently."
