AI NewsWaveOct. 19 AI Briefing: Anthropic Public Benefit Fund Pledge and a Run of Korean AI Partnerships
Key points
- Anthropic announces plan to put 5% of its shares into a public benefit fund
- Partnerships link Korean AI chips and LLMs
- Discussion of AI security checks widens among financial firms and businesses
Anthropic will contribute 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund. Chosun Biz and iNews24 reported that Anthropic announced the plan on Oct. 18 (U.S. time). According to Chosun Biz, the shares will go to the "Anthropic Public Benefit Fund" after shareholder approval, and each time the company's value rises 50% above a set baseline, the board may contribute an additional 2% at its discretion. AI Times said the aim is to respond to job changes and labor market shocks from the spread of AI.
Microsoft (MS) has withdrawn from a data center contract with British AI infrastructure company Nscale. IT Chosun, citing Bloomberg, reported on Oct. 19 (U.S. time) that the withdrawal is expected to weigh on Nscale's initial public offering (IPO), in which it aims to raise up to $3 billion, as facility construction is delayed by problems securing power. Chosun Biz wrote that delays in securing power could slow the pace of large-scale investment plans.
Partnerships bringing together Korean AI technology continued. iNews24 and AI Times reported that Orchestro Cloud signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with FuriosaAI, Upstage, SPK Inc. and Daewon CTS on Oct. 19 to jointly develop an NPU-based sovereign AI full-stack product. AI Times and TheElec reported that Sendbird announced on Oct. 19 that it signed an MOU with Upstage to apply Korean LLMs in enterprise settings and expand the commercialization of AI agents.
Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin called for building AI-based defense systems at the National Assembly Political Affairs Committee audit on Oct. 19. According to iNews24 and Chosun Biz, the FSS plans to expand mock hacking drills, including AI-based intrusion. Chosun Biz wrote that it is also pursuing measures to increase financial firms' security budgets and staffing.
A security check service for businesses also arrived. Techworld News and Boannews reported that Naver Cloud unveiled on Oct. 19 a "Security Self-Assessment" service that lets companies check their security status through an online questionnaire. Techworld News said the scope of the assessment has been extended to AI-use environments, and AI Newspaper (인공지능신문) said the service is free.
LG Group began business review meetings for all affiliates on Oct. 19. According to TheElec, the meetings are chaired by LG Corp. CEO Koo Kwang-mo and review this year's business results and next year's business plans, and iNews24 said AI growth strategies and plans for carrying out cooperation with global big tech companies are expected to be key agenda items. iNews24, EBN and others reported that LG Electronics unveiled a brand video on the history and future vision of home appliance innovation on an outdoor billboard in New York's Times Square, and EBN described the plan as expanding its business from appliances into physical AI fields such as AI homes and home robots.
News on manufacturing AI continued. TheElec reported that Kolon Benit announced on Oct. 19 that it selected Isu Chemical, Seowoo Industry and Seowoo Advanced Materials as participating companies for the "Win-Win AI Transformation (AX) Pilot Model Support Program." TheElec also reported that MIcube Solution received the top S grade in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' manufacturing AI development capability assessment. VentureSquare reported that OnePredict will take part in FIX 2026, to be held at EXCO in Daegu from Oct. 21 to 24.