What is KT building through the government-led dark factory project?

KT is developing a system built on modular edge AI data center infrastructure to generate and verify Sim-Ready synthetic data and to support an integrated environment for operating AI agents. The work is aimed at building the operational and control systems that dark factories require.

Why does KT say it is joining the dark factory research project now?

KT said the project will help resolve errors that can happen when AI agents trained in simulation are deployed at real industrial sites. It also said the effort will accelerate development of core infrastructure and operating platforms for commercializing dark factories.

How will KT use the results of the dark factory trials?

KT plans to test the platform at project partners’ manufacturing sites and then turn the capabilities gained into customized physical AI solutions for different industries. The company said it will build on its global AI transformation experience and partnerships to enter the global manufacturing AI market.

KT joins state project to build AI-driven 'dark factory' solutions

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Summary

KT said Thursday it has joined a government-led project to develop AI-driven dark factory design and construction solutions in North Jeolla Province. The project aims to build a dark factory near Jeonbuk Innovation City and involves KAIST, LG Energy Solution, Harim Foods, Shinsung E&G and the Korea Productivity Center. KT will develop modular edge AI data center infrastructure, Sim-Ready synthetic data generation and verification, and an integrated environment for AI agents. The company also plans to test the platform at partner manufacturing sites and turn the results into customized physical AI solutions.

Key Facts

The project is under a Ministry of Science and ICT initiative to build a research and development ecosystem for a software platform based on collaborative intelligence and physical AI.
KT will develop modular edge AI data center infrastructure, described as compact, distributed AI data centers pre-assembled on factory floors.
KT plans to test an integrated dark factory platform, including modular edge AI data centers and a Data Flywheel system, at project partners’ manufacturing sites.
The company said it wants to use the trials to create customized physical AI solutions for different industries.
A KT official said the company aims to accelerate development of core infrastructure and operating platforms for commercializing dark factories and to lead innovation in Korea’s manufacturing productivity and the physical AI industry ecosystem.

By Jhoo Dong-chan

Published Sep 17, 2026 1:47 pm KST

A promotional image of KT's 'dark factories' / Courtesy of KT — A promotional image of KT's "dark factories" / Courtesy of KT

KT said Thursday it has joined a government-led research project to develop design and construction solutions for "dark factories" — fully automated, unmanned plants that run around the clock using artificial intelligence (AI) across every stage of production.

The project falls under a Ministry of Science and ICT initiative to build a research and development ecosystem for a software platform based on collaborative intelligence and physical AI. It aims to build a dark factory near Jeonbuk Innovation City in North Jeolla Province.

Besides KT, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, LG Energy Solution, Harim Foods, Shinsung E&G and the Korea Productivity Center are taking part as joint research institutions.

KT will develop a system built on modular edge AI data center infrastructure — compact, distributed AI data centers pre-assembled on factory floors — to generate and verify Sim-Ready synthetic data, or digital data usable in virtual simulation environments, along with an integrated environment for operating AI agents.

Through the research, KT aims to resolve errors that can occur when AI agents trained in simulated environments are deployed at real industrial sites, and to build the operational and control systems dark factories require.

KT plans to later test an integrated dark factory platform, including modular edge AI data centers and a Data Flywheel system in which data and AI models interact to improve performance, at project partners' manufacturing sites.

It also plans to turn the capabilities gained through the trials into customized physical AI solutions for different industries, building on its global AI transformation (AX) experience and partnerships to help it enter the global manufacturing AI market.

A KT official at the company's AX Future Technology Institute said the project brings together core government, local government and industry-academia-research institutions, and that KT will accelerate development of core infrastructure and operating platforms for commercializing dark factories, adding that the company aims to lead innovation in Korea's manufacturing productivity and the physical AI industry ecosystem.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.

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