Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
LG Uplus inks 1st overseas deal to launch ixi-O in Malaysia
LG Uplus CEO Hong Bum-shik, back row second from left, poses with Maxis CEO Goh Seow Eng, back row third from left, after signing an agreement to launch LG Uplus' artificial intelligence call assistant ixi-O in Malaysia at Maxis headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Thursday. Courtesy of LG Uplus
By Lee Gyu-lee
LG Uplus has secured its first overseas deal to launch its artificial intelligence (AI) call assistant ixi-O in Malaysia, marking a key step in the company’s push to expand its AI services globally.
The company announced on Monday that it has signed an agreement with Maxis, one of Malaysia’s leading telecom operators, to launch ixi-O commercially in the local market. The deal marks the Korean company's first overseas business discussion since it announced its global AI expansion strategy at MWC26 in March.
LG Uplus CEO Hong Bum-shik met with Maxis CEO Goh Seow Eng at Maxis headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday to discuss plans to launch ixi‑O in Malaysia. The overseas rollout of ixi-O will use a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, allowing the service to be tailored and delivered to fit the operational environments of the country’s telecom operators.
“We are localizing ixi-O for Malaysia’s telecom environment and preparing it as a service that real-world customers can use,” Hong said. “Building on the AI experience accumulated in Korea, we will continue expanding our presence in the global market centered on AI SaaS offerings.”
Maxis, which serves around 10 million mobile subscribers, offers a full suite of fixed, broadband and mobile services with extensive 4G and 5G coverage across Malaysia. The company has recently accelerated its transition into a digital solutions provider, investing in AI, cloud and cybersecurity.
The company plans to launch ixi-O in Malaysia later this year, adapted to Malaysia’s local communication environment. Leveraging its on-device AI engine, the service supports multilingual processing and is designed to reflect commonly used English expressions in Malaysia, enabling a more localized user experience.
The two companies are also exploring broader cooperation in AI-powered smart home services and enterprise solutions beyond the ixi-O launch.
“Ixi-O is a meaningful service in terms of the value it offers customers, and I was particularly impressed by LG Uplus’ security capabilities and its on-device AI technology that supports local languages,” the Maxis CEO said.
“We hope this round of talks will pave the way for us to explore business opportunities with LG Uplus across a wide range of areas.”
The latest agreement signals a transition — from strategy to execution — in the company's global AI business road map. At MWC 2026, Hong outlined a vision to transform LG Uplus into a global AI software company that commercializes telecom and AI transformation technologies into scalable software solutions.