ESTsoft (CEO Chung Sang-won), a company specializing in AI services, and YBM (CEO Huh Moon-ho), a foreign language education specialist, announced on the 29th that they signed a business agreement on the 26th to develop AI humans specialized for foreign language education.
Under the agreement, ESTsoft and YBM will jointly produce AI humans specialized for foreign language education and cooperate actively with each other in commercializing them.
The two companies agreed in particular that in a foreign language learning environment, learners are sensitive to fine and varied physical expression — facial expression, voice, intonation and hand gestures — and shared the view that introducing AI humans will have a positive effect in maximizing learning outcomes.
Going forward, ESTsoft will receive data in various forms from YBM, including video and text, and use it to produce the AI humans.
The signing ceremony was held at ESTsoft's headquarters. Attendees included ESTsoft CEO Chung Sang-won and YBM CEO Huh Moon-ho, along with the heads of each company's business divisions and other officials.
YBM CEO Huh Moon-ho said: "We are very pleased to be able to work with ESTsoft, which holds virtual human technology at the highest level in Korea," adding, "YBM will spare no active support for AI human development and will continue investing in the broader advancement of our foreign language education system."
ESTsoft CEO Chung Sang-won said: "Education is one of the leading industries where virtual humans can bring great innovation," adding, "We are delighted to be taking on such an important project with YBM, a leading Korean education company." He continued: "We will make full use of the virtual human production know-how we have built up in the education industry to realize this AI human successfully as well."
ESTsoft, meanwhile, identified virtual humans as its core business earlier this year and is rapidly reshaping its business model. It is currently developing its virtual human business across a range of areas beyond education, including entertainment, news broadcasting and finance.