South Korean tech giant to display Saudi-tailored AI models at LEAP 2025
Organized by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, LEAP is the largest tech event in the Middle East. This year, the four-day event is expected to draw nearly 700 startups, more than 1,000 expert speakers, 1,800 tech brands and 170,000 visitors.
Naver is among the few companies globally that has a comprehensive AI value chain, spanning data centers, cloud infrastructure and AI technologies. Its LEAP 2025 exhibition is themed 'AI for Saudi Arabia, Powered by Naver' and will feature services currently provided in South Korea, with a focus on their potential adaptation for the Kingdom's market.
These include an AI-powered tutor, an AI-driven electronic medical records service that converts conversations with patients to text-based documentation, and Naver Works, a tool that can summarize, translate, and generate emails.
The Korean company will present the potential localization of these technologies in Saudi Arabia's education, healthcare, media and labor sectors.
'We aim to present AI models tailored specifically for Saudi Arabia, ensuring that the Kingdom maintains its own sovereign AI capabilities,' Han Dong-geun, Naver's public relations officer, told Arab News.
'We already have two data centers and have cloud business know-how. And we also have AI experience in the form of LLMs (large language models). And so we want to introduce this value chain at LEAP 2025. AI development needs all three of these components, and we have all these capabilities.'
Naver has consistently emphasized the importance of sovereign AI, warning that the expansion of generative AI — driven primarily by US and Chinese tech companies — could threaten the technological independence of other countries.
The company believes its HyperCLOVA X — a Korean-based LLM, which is a type of AI program that can generate and understand text — is an example of a self-sufficient AI ecosystem that could serve as a model for Saudi Arabia's own AI development.
'South Korea is the third country in the world to develop its own LLM ... We want to collaborate with Saudi Arabia and share our know-how and experiences to develop a custom AI model that preserves Saudi Arabia's AI sovereignty,' Han said.
Saudi Arabia is emerging as the key Middle East market for the Korean tech giant, which is accelerating its foray into the region.
In 2023, the company won a $100 million contract to develop a digital twin platform — a software system that creates and manages a virtual replica, or 'digital twin,' of a physical asset, process, or system, enabling users to monitor its real-time behavior and simulate various scenarios.
Last year, it also signed a memorandum of understanding with Aramco Digital and the Saudi Data and AI Authority to collaborate on the first Arabic LLM project, and partnered with Saudi Arabia's National Housing Company to advance smart city projects and urban planning.
Naver is South Korea's largest search engine and internet portal provider. Its business portfolio includes cloud services, AI, e-commerce, fintech, and digital content. The company logged a net income of $1.3 billion in 2024, according to regulatory filings.
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