SK Telecom(SKT) of South Korea and the U.S. “search unicorn” Perplexity held a joint press conference on September 4 at SK Telecom’s headquarters in Seoul, announcing plans to evolve from traditional keyword-based searches to AI-powered conversational searches.

Aravind Srinivas, co-founder and CEO of Perplexity, visited Korea for the first time for the event. He introduced Perplexity’s AI conversational search engine and revealed plans to collaborate exclusively with SKT among Korean companies. This partnership will include mutual investments, joint marketing, and technical support to enhance both A. (A dot) and a globally-oriented AI agent service.

Founded in 2022 by Srinivas, a former OpenAI researcher, Perplexity is a U.S.-based AI startup and a unicorn company that provides generative AI-based conversational search engine services. Operating in over 50 countries, it processes more than 230 million search requests monthly. Perplexity also took the top spot in the Wall Street Journal’s “Great AI Chatbot Challenge” this past May.

Srinivas commented, “The Korean market is appealing due to its advanced communication networks and infrastructure. Korean users are particularly familiar with AI services like A. Through this partnership, we anticipate that Korean customers will experience a cutting-edge search service where they can interact with AI as if they were talking to a person.”

SKT CEO Yoo Young-sang echoed this optimism, stating, “Our partnership with Perplexity, a rising star in the global AI search market, will create unprecedented value. We aim to provide innovative AI-driven experiences to both domestic and international customers.”

In June, SKT invested $10 million in Perplexity, and in return, Perplexity plans to invest in SKT’s Silicon Valley-based subsidiary, Global AI Platform Corporation (GAP Co.).

This mutual investment extends beyond AI business ventures to include technical collaboration. GAP Co. is focused on developing Personal AI Agents (PAA) for the global AI market.

SKT and GAP Co. are currently developing the PAA with plans to introduce a beta version in the U.S. market by the end of the year, with Perplexity serving as the search partner for the PAA.

The PAA is a personal assistant service that understands user preferences and connects them with the most appropriate services based on their intent. It employs a multi-LLM (large language model) strategy, using various LLMs as needed.

For example, if a user asks, “What are some good restaurants in Seoul to recommend to foreigners?”, the PAA determines that a search is required and selects a search partner like Perplexity from its pool of LLMs.

To enhance PAA’s response quality, Perplexity will provide SKT with a private API, rather than a general one, allowing users to access more detailed search information and sources. SKT also plans to continue collaborating with various search engines and LLM developers.

As of late August, A. had surpassed 5 million subscribers, growing steadily from around 3.2 million at the end of last year and cementing its position as Korea’s leading AI personal assistant.

In August, SKT revamped A. by integrating Perplexity’s AI search engine alongside other multi-LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude. The market’s response has been positive.

SKT has also indicated that, as they continue to enhance A., they are considering monetizing features and services that offer substantial value to users, based on usage patterns and customer feedback.

Srinivas added, “I’m very impressed with the popularity of A., the AI assistant, in Korea. Korean users tend to enjoy asking complex questions and expect quick responses. I hope this partnership will help increase A.’s popularity even further.”

Additionally, SKT customers will have the opportunity to use Perplexity’s premium search service, “Perplexity Pro” (valued at approximately KRW 290,000 annually), for free for one year on both mobile and PC.

Perplexity highlighted that “Perplexity Pro” is distinguished by its high accuracy in responses, advanced search functions, and image upload capabilities. It also offers precise source information to reduce hallucination effects—a key advantage.

CEO Yoo concluded, “As the rapid development of AI continues to disrupt the global search market, our investment and service partnership with Perplexity will significantly boost SKT’s AI search competitiveness and help us take the lead in the AI ecosystem.”