SK Telecom to launch metaverse platform in SE Asia

South Korea’s SK Telecom Co. announced on Thursday that it has signed a contract with CelcomDigi Berhad, the leading telecom company in Malaysia, and Cherry, an Internet-of-Things (IoT) platform company in the Philippines, for publishing partnership of its metaverse platform, ifland.

SK Telecom will collaborate with CelcomDigi and Cherry to provide locally optimized metaverse platforms and oversee global services targeting the entire region.

CelcomDigi and Cherry will focus on local brand partnerships, localized marketing, and initial customer support.

Artificial intelligence (AI) features will also be introduced to ifland by the end of the year.

Plans include preparing an AI non-player character (NPC) Social AI Agent optimized for local languages and cultures and a 3D AI studio to create items and spaces tailored to each country's culture using generative AI.

SK Telecom plans to expand ifland into regions, including the Americas, focusing on metaverse and AI synergy, starting with Southeast Asia.

The goal is to create a seamless global AI metaverse experience that transcends national boundaries.

Support for languages such as Malay, Indonesian Hindi, and Spanish will be added within the first half of the year

The curation feature will recommend content tailored to the characteristics of users in different regions, improving the metaverse experience for global users.

Write to Seung-Woo Lee at leeswoo@hankyung.com