CJ integrates AI infrastructure and data to launch CJ AI center

CJ Corp. launched an artificial intelligence center Wednesday, which it hopes will lead the conglomerate's digital innovation. The new CJ AI Center is located in Seoul’s swanky Gangnam District. 

The South Korean conglomerate plans to compile data from its various arms to utilize big data and expedite its digitization efforts across all subsidiaries. The center will also work on seeking outside experts’ consultations and robust partnerships with startups. 

Lee Chi-hoon, who joined the conglomerate in March vis-a-vis US tech giants Apple Inc., Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly Facebook Inc.), and Yahoo!, will lead the initiative. The machine learning expert will manage some 30 researchers at the center. 

ADAPTABILITY ESSENTIAL

As CJ prides itself as being a “lifestyle and culture corporation,” it is important for the group to adapt to shifting trends in an agile way. And the conglomerate believes the adoption of AI is an integral part of such a blueprint.

The group is an industry leader in food, entertainment, and logistics – all of which closely relate to the end-users. CJ Group owns the namesake food manufacturer CJ CheilJedang, movie and other entertainment content distributor CJ ENM, and the logistics company CJ Daehan Express, among other subsidiaries.

CJ CheilJedang analyzes crop prices in real time while CJ Freshway has an algorithm to suggest items on its business-to-business (B2B) online platform. 

The logistics arm of CJ could set up a smart fulfillment center virtually and test run the workers’ itineraries and the location of facilities to improve the efficiency of the physical centers. 

South Korea’s most popular drugstore Olive Young is also owned by CJ Group. Its nationwide stores analyze customers’ behavior patterns and display the cosmetics, skincare, and supplements accordingly in the stores. 

Lee, the newly appointed head of CJ AI Center, said the group has optimal conditions and potential for AI research as it boasts both massive amounts of big data and various customer touchpoints. 

Write to Kyeong-je Han at hankyung@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.