Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
LG CNS joins global AI alliance for new materials discovery
Headquarters of LG CNS in Seoul / Courtesy of LG CNS
By Nam Hyun-woo
LG CNS has joined the founding members of a global alliance using artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the discovery of new materials, becoming the only Korean IT company in the initiative.
The company said Monday it will partner with British AI startup CuspAI, which launched the alliance, to help Korean manufacturers use AI to develop next-generation materials.
The alliance, called the AI Materials Foundry, combines AI, data, computing resources and scientific expertise to accelerate the discovery and development of new materials. According to LG CNS, its 48 members include Nvidia, Meta, AMD, 3M and Merck, along with leading research institutions.
LG CNS will use CuspAI's AI platform to help companies in industries such as semiconductors, chemicals and energy develop materials with desired properties, such as greater heat resistance and improved carbon capture, while significantly shortening development time.
One customer, Finnish chemicals company Kemira, shortened a materials development project from several years to six months using the platform, identifying 20 promising candidates for further testing.
As CuspAI's delivery partner in Korea, LG CNS will help manufacturers adopt the AI platform without investing in costly research equipment or AI infrastructure. It will provide end-to-end support, from data management and analysis to platform operation, enabling customers to conduct AI-driven materials research without dedicated AI specialists.
LG CNS said customer data will be stored on dedicated servers and will not be used to train AI models, while intellectual property rights to newly developed materials will remain with customers.
"Improving the speed and cost efficiency of new materials development is directly linked to corporate competitiveness," said Eddie Jang, head of the Chemical and Battery Division at LG CNS.
"As AI becomes a necessity rather than an option, we will help Korean manufacturers leverage a world-class AI-driven materials research ecosystem to achieve tangible business results faster."