Hyosung launches AI convergence research institute to drive digital transformation

Hyosung announced Wednesday that it has established an AI Convergence Research Institute to drive a company-wide artificial intelligence transformation.

The institute will pursue applied and convergence-oriented research and development that integrates the latest AI technologies into existing businesses. Hyosung plans to build AI into a core engine for developing high-value new products at the group's key affiliates and for designing and executing future businesses.

Hyosung appointed Maeng Sung-hyun, an emeritus professor at KAIST, as the institute's inaugural director with the rank of executive vice president. Maeng, who previously served on the faculty at Syracuse University and KAIST's School of Computing, is an AI specialist with more than 30 years of experience leading research in semantic-based information retrieval, text mining, natural language processing and language modeling. For the past eight months he served as an AI adviser to Hyosung, consulting on the company's digital transformation strategy and delivering lectures to employees to strengthen their AI capabilities.

A Hyosung official said the company plans to secure not only core technical talent essential to its AI transformation but also next-generation professionals who combine expertise in industrial settings with strong AI skills.

Meanwhile, Hyosung has been expanding its AI business in line with global trends. Last month, it officially opened a hyperscale data center developed in partnership with STT GDC, a Singapore-based data center company.