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Press Release
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SKT Invests USD 200 Million in SMART Global Holdings, an Integrated AI Data Center Solution Provider in the US2024.07.16
SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) (“SKT”) signed a definitive agreement to invest USD$200 million in SMART Global Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGH) (“SGH”), a leading designer and developer of high-performance, high-availability enterprise solutions. Additionally, SKT and SGH intend to leverage their complementary capabilities to enhance customer offerings in the development of differentiated global end-to-end AI factory and data center solutions and services, advanced memory market products and services, and NPU-based AI edge servers. Under the terms of the agreement, SKT will invest USD$200 million in SGH by acquiring 200,000 preferred shares. The 200,000 preferred shares are convertible into ordinary shares of SGH at a conversion price of $32.81 per preferred share, subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events. Headquartered in Milpitas, California (US), SGH offers specialized platforms and services for high-performance computing, AI, machine learning, fault-tolerant computing, and the Internet of Things that span the continuum of edge, core, and cloud. Through its Penguin Solutions business, SGH provides integrated AI data center solutions ranging from the design of AI clusters consisting of large-scale GPU servers to the expertise in data center deployment and operation. SKT and SGH plan to enter into a collaboration this year with an emphasis on establishing a more concrete cooperation across the AI infrastructure business, including AI data center, edge AI, and future memory solutions. SKT’s current AI-related investments and partnerships include Anthropic, Lambda, and Perplexity. Along with these investments, the alliance with SGH is expected to solidify SKT’s position in the AI value chain across the three pillars: AI semiconductor, AI infrastructure and AI services. “Our investment in and cooperation with SGH will give us an opportunity to boost our position in the AI value chain,” said Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SKT. “In the era of AI transformation, we plan to continue to collaborate and make proactive investments to achieve global leadership in AI.” “We are thrilled to have SKT as a strategic investor,” said Mark Adams, CEO of SGH. “Today’s announcement is a testament to Penguin Solutions’ capabilities in the deployment of AI factories at scale through our systems, software, and managed services suite of solutions. We look forward to executing on these strategic collaboration opportunities with the SKT team and believe they will create value for our respective stakeholders.”
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SK Telecom Expands AI Diagnosis Assistant Service for Pets in North America2024.07.15
SK Telecom (NYSEL SKM, “SKT”) is launching its AI-based veterinary diagnosis assistance service ‘X Caliber’ in North America, home to the world's largest pet market. SKT has entered into a partnership with Nuon Imaging & Nikki Health Solutions(“Nuon Nikki”), leading distributors of digital veterinary diagnostic imaging services for Veterinarians in Canada. This collaboration will bring X Caliber to over 100 veterinary hospitals across Canada, leveraging the integration of Nuon Nikki's advanced veterinary imaging software, Skyline PACS (Picture Archiving & Communication System) for Vets. In addition, SKT has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Myvet Imaging, a U.S. X-ray equipment distributor. Following a successful proof-of-concept (PoC) trial at a prominent veterinary hospital in New Jersey, the two parties plan to finalize a commercial contract within the third quarter of this year. "With these AI capabilities of SKT X Caliber AI Healthcare, we are dedicated to pioneer groundbreaking solutions that genuinely improve the well-being of pets," said Son In-hyuk, Global Solution AIX Vice President, SKT. The decision to launch X Caliber in North America is attributed tothe region’s exceptional love for pets.Pet ownership statisticsreveal that 77% of Canadian households own at least one pet. Canada is home to 28 million pets, and remarkably, about 20% of cats and dogs have been with their owners for over a decade as of 2021. The U.S. on the other hand represents theworld's largest pet market as 66% of U.S. households own pets as of 2022, according tothe American Pet Products Association’s report. X Caliber is an innovative service that uses AI to analyze X-ray images of dogs/cats in about 15 seconds with a sensitivity of 86-94%. Thanks to X Caliber’s use of cloud technology for data storage and retrieval, there is no need to install a separate server within the hospital. This allows veterinarians to access the results of the AI-based image diagnosis on their mobile devices or PCs, anytime and from anywhere. "We are delighted to introduce AI-powered diagnostic report services, which leverage South Korea's cutting-edge AI technology, to the Canadian market through this agreement," said Mark Little, Nuon Nikki. "We look forward to pioneering the AI era in Canadian veterinary radiology through our partnership with X Caliber."
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SK Telecom and Singtel partner to develop next-generation telco technology and solutions2024.07.08
SK Telecom(NYSE: SKM, “SKT”) and Singtel announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on building next-generation telecommunications networks that will drive innovation, improve network performance and security and deliver enhanced customer experiences over the next two years. The partners will explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI), orchestration tools, and deepen the domain knowledge of network virtualization and other technologies - central to laying the necessary building blocks for progressing to 6G. The partners will also work together on developing differentiated innovative solutions to elevate their network capabilities such as Edge-AI Infrastructure, which reduces the computational burden concentrated on the cloud through edge computing and performs AI inference by combining AI solution. This initiative is expected to not only enhance connectivity but also provide customers with unique AI service offerings and enable the operators to restore services faster, thus improving the customer experience. Additionally, SKT and Singtel will be putting together a white paper on their advancements in areas such as virtualization, slicing and network evolution that can help other telcos globally to capitalize on the capabilities of 5G and to prepare for 6G. Kang Jong-ryeol, SKT’s Head of ICT Infra(CSPO) stated, "The collaboration between SKT and Singtel marks a significant first step in shaping the future of the global telecommunications industry." He further emphasized, "By combining the strengths of both companies, we aim to achieve efficient high-performance network construction, enhance network stability, and discover new network-based services. Additionally, we will strive to make significant advancements in next-generation communication technologies, including AI-powered wired and wireless infrastructure." Tay Yeow Lian, Singtel’s Managing Director, Networks, said, “As a global leader in 5G technology, we’re keen to capitalize on the myriad of capabilities this technology has to offer, especially in the areas of network slicing and with the inclusion of AI. With SKT, we’re looking to not only enhance the experience of our customers but to also drive industry innovation and help us prepare for the evolution to 6G.”
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Global Telco AI Alliance Founding Parties Sign Agreement to establish a Joint Venture Focused on Co-developing and Launching a Multilingual Telco LLM2024.06.19
SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM, “SKT”), Deutsche Telekom, e&, Singtel and SoftBank Corp., the founding parties of the Global Telco AI Alliance(GTAA), today signed a Joint Venture agreement at TM Forum's DTW24-Ignite. This follows the announcement by the GTAA at MWC Barcelona 2024 to establish a Joint Venture and marks the founding parties’ commitment to co-develop and launch multilingual Large Language Models(Telco LLM) specifically tailored to the needs of telecommunications companies through the JV. As announced earlier this year, the JV will see equal investments from the founding parties to support its initial working capital requirements to develop the Telco LLM that will aim to help telcos improve their customer interactions via digital assists and other innovative AI solutions. The JV will look at deploying innovative AI applications tailored to the needs of the founding parties in their respective markets, enabling them to reach a global customer base of approximately 1.3 billion across 50 countries. The Telco LLM will be multilingual including; Korean, English, German, Arabic, and Bahasa among other languages. The launch of the JV is subject to customary regulatory approvals. The second Global Telco AI Roundtable (GTAR) was also held at DTW24, reaffirming the GTAA’s dedication to driving innovation and collaboration in the telecoms industry. The GTAR highlighted the key progress achieved by the GTAA, as well as the AI governance systems and AI use cases reshaping the telecom landscape. GTAR’s opening speech was delivered by SKT’s CEO Ryu Young-sang, who emphasized on the transformative potential of AI in the telecom industry. CEO Ryu highlighted that the Global Telco AI Alliance is well positioned to be an active player in the global AI ecosystem as businesses worldwide are keen to reshape their business strategies through AI. He added that, through the Telco LLM JV new business opportunities will be created, and enhanced levels of customer experiences will be achieved. Ryu stressed that while heading towards this goal, the Alliance needs to proactively address the social and environmental responsibilities associated with AI by establishing an effective AI governance framework. The opening address was followed by a panel discussion, which featured the participation of Suk-geun Chung, Chief AI Global Officer, SKT; Harrison Lung, Group Chief Strategy Officer, e&; William Woo, Group Chief Information Officer and Group Chief Digital Officer, Singtel; and Jan Hofmann, Top Program Lead for Artificial Intelligence, Deutsche Telekom. The panelists shared updates on GTAA 's progress and outlined plans aimed at using AI in the future to address industry challenges and unlock new opportunities. The panelists also shared their perspective on AI governance and founding parties’ individual efforts to ensure Responsible AI practices. Founding parties showcased potential applications of an LLM for telco, focusing on contact center and infrastructure use cases. They demonstrated how a fine-tuned LLM can enhance contact center operations by generating real-time reference answers for agents during calls and automatically handling post-call tasks. They also illustrated the model's ability to provide answers to infrastructure operators' questions, streamlining their workflows.
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SKT Awarded IEEE Milestone for CDMA Commercialization2024.06.10
SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM, “SKT”) has been awarded the IEEE Milestone, hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), for its 1996 commercialization of CDMA in conjunction with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. “We are delighted to be honored as the first Korean company to be awarded IEEE Milestone status for CDMA commercialization,” said Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom. “We will maintain the creative, challenging and collaborative spirit that led to CDMA commercialization and pioneer the AI era.” In 1996, based on CDMA introduced in Korea by ETRI, SK Telecom collaborated with Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics to successfully commercialize a CDMA digital mobile communications system as a response to the explosive demand for mobile communications. The achievement demonstrated its capability of increasing call capacity by over 10-fold compared to analog methods, sparking the growth of the global ICT industry. "The commercialization of CDMA milestone recognizes the collaborative efforts and visionary spirit that brought essential technology to the world,” said IEEE President-Elect Kathleen Kramer. “IEEE is pleased to celebrate the brilliance of human ingenuity and the transformative technologies that have shaped our world and inspired generations of innovators.” Since 1983, the IEEE Milestones program has been honoring outstanding achievements in the areas of electrical, electronic and information engineering that have significantly contributed to the advancement of human society and the industrial world. IEEE Milestones honor achievements that have existed for at least 25 years encompassed by technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. Previous IEEE Milestone achievements include a wide array of history-making scientific and technological breakthroughs, including Benjamin Franklin’s research on electricity in 1751, Volta’s invention of the electric battery (1799), Marconi’s wireless telegraphy experiments(1895), the first wireless radio broadcast (1906), the first public demonstration of television (1926), computer graphics technology (1965–1978), and the first internet transmission (1969).
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SK Telecom Creates KRW 2.795 Trillion in Social Value for 2023, Marking Six Years of Uninterrupted Growth2024.05.29
SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM, “SKT”) announced on May 28th that it generated a robust KRW 2.795 trillion in social value (SV) for 2023, showcasing a noteworthy increase of 12.1% (equivalent to KRW 302.2 billion) compared to the previous year. SKT’s notable growth in SV was largely attributed to various initiatives. These include enhancing services to prevent voice phishing damage, expanding the use of AI-based care services like AI speakers or AI calls for the elderly or isolated households, and a growth in users of the ‘Red Connect’ smart blood donation app. Since 2018, SKT has been quantifying the value created by its comprehensive business management activities, encompassing product and service development, fair operation, personnel management, collaboration with business partners, and social contribution activities. In 2023, SKT saw a 5.6% (or KRW 108.5 billion) year-on-year (YoY) increase in SV from ‘Indirect Economic Contributions,’ such as employment, dividends and tax contributions, amounting to KRW 2.036 trillion. On the other hand, SV in ‘Environmental Performance,’ including environmental processes, products and services, decreased by 6.2% (or KRW 6.9 billion) to KRW -118.0 billion. Meanwhile, SV in ‘Social Performance,’ covering products and services, labor, win-win growth and social contributions, surged by 29.7% (or KRW 200.6 billion) to KRW 876.7 billion. Thanks to solid business performance, the ‘Indirect Economic Contribution’ SV has exceeded KRW 2 trillion for the first time since the company began measuring SV output. Even amid continuous infrastructure investments to meet market demand, SKT’s ‘Environmental Performance’ successfully minimized the increase in greenhouse gas (GHS) emissions through energy efficiency measures and the utilization of renewable energy. The company has been making efforts to enhance its environmental process performance through measures including the integration and upgrade of 3G and LTE network equipment via Single Radio Access Network (Single RAN), AI-based network planning, and implementation of energy-efficient cooling and low-power design. ‘Social Performance’ saw the most significant YoY growth in 2023. This growth was primarily attributable to AI and ICT products and services that contributed to solving social issues by preventing crimes, providing care for the socially vulnerable populations and building a social safety net. In terms of crime prevention, the performance of the new feature that blocks fake roaming numbers has been newly reflected in the SV measurement. The feature blocks international roaming calls that are made using a manipulated phone number to make it look like it came from a trusted caller. Along with existing voice spam blocking and call interception blocking, this feature helps prevent customers from falling victim to voice phishing scams. In addition, SV performance in the area of care for the socially vulnerable continued to grow. Since April 2019, ‘AI Care,’ a senior care service that utilizes an AI speaker, has been serving approximately 20,000 households in 110 local governments and institutions nationwide. As of April 2024, the ‘Emergency SOS’ feature, launched in cooperation with the National Fire Agency, has rescued more than 906 seniors living alone. Furthermore, the AI Call service, an AI-powered automated check-in call service, is currently monitoring the well-being of 150,000 seniors living alone and those at risk of isolation and depression in Korea. This year, through the establishment of an ESG Large Language Model (LLM), SKT plans to offer an AI Call service that allows for more flexible and friendly interactions with users. Moreover, the ‘Red Connect’ app, a joint effort by SKT and the Korean Red Cross, provides health management services and a blood donation inquiry feature, significantly contributing to the rise in repeat donations from blood donors. Since its inception in 2019, user numbers havesteadily climbed, with over 210,000 blood donors utilizing the Red Connect app to participate in blood donation as of 2023.
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SKT Launches AI-powered Veterinary Diagnostic Assistance Service X Caliber in Australia2024.05.29
SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM, “SKT”) today announced that it officially launched its AI-based veterinary X-ray image diagnosis assistance service ‘X Caliber’ in Australia. X Caliber is an innovative service that uses AI to analyze X-ray images of dogs/cats within around 15 seconds. Since X Caliber uses cloud to store and retrieve data, there is no need to install a separate server within the hospital. Veterinarians can examine the results of the AI-based image diagnosis on their mobile devices or PCs anywhere, anytime. The sensitivity of X Caliber stands at 86-94%: 94% for detection of 16 different abnormal patterns from abdominal X-ray images of dogs; 88% for detection of 10 different abnormal patterns from chest X-ray images of dogs; and 86% for detection of 7 different abnormalities from musculoskeletal X-ray images of dogs. Since entering a strategic partnership with ATX Medical Solutions (“ATX”), a leading provider of medical devices in Australia, in November 2023, SKT has been working closely with ATX to prepare for the commercial launch of the service by running beta tests. With today’s official launch, X Caliber can be used by over 100 veterinary clinics in Australia. Australia is a pet-loving country with one of the world’s highest pet ownership rates. Over two thirds of households are estimated to own a pet, with the total number of pets standing at around 29 million as of January 2024. The average number of pets per household in Australia is 1.3 dogs and 1.6 cats. SKT and ATX will also be attending the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) Conference 2024, one of the largest gatherings of veterinary professionals in Australia, in Melbourne from May 27-31, to introduce X Caliber to veterinarians. Moreover, SKT announced that it signed a commercial contract with MEDIVET Pet Hospital & Clinic, Indonesia's largest premium veterinary hospital chain, to provide X Caliber to MEDIVET’s hospital. The company sees this deal as a good opportunity to introduce X Caliber not only to Indonesia, but also to the rest of the Southeast Asian market. Meanwhile, SKT is currently actively providing beta service to veterinary clinics in North America, Europe, and Asia to further expand X Caliber’s presence in the global market.
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SKT Announces 1Q 2024 Earnings Results2024.05.08
SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM, “SKT”) today announced its earnings for the first quarter of 2024 on a K-IFRS consolidated basis: revenue of KRW 4.475 trillion, operating income of KRW 498.5 billion, and net income of KRW 361.9 billion. Compared to the same period last year, SKT’s consolidated revenue and operating income increased by 2.3% and 0.8%, respectively, backed by even growth of mobile and fixed telecommunications business of SKT and SK Broadband. Net income increased by19.6% due to higher non-operating income related to investments. In the first quarter, SKT’s enterprise business continued to grow steadily to become a solid growth driver in the non-telecom space, with sales of enterprise AI expanding by more than 10% YoY. SKT's strategy is to accelerate the execution of its AI Pyramid Strategy and focus on creating concrete results in three key areas this year: AI Infrastructure, AI Transformation (AIX), and AI Service. In the AI Infrastructure area, which is the foundation of the AI business, the data center business recorded a 26% YoY revenue growth backed by continuous increase in utilization rate. SKT plans to evolve and develop its data center business into the AI data center business, which is witnessing rapid growth in demand. In the AIX area, the mobile and fixed telecommunications business continued to drive subscriber net additions, securing 15.93 million 5G subscribers, 9.59 million pay TV subscribers and 6.99 million broadband subscribers as of the end of the first quarter. The enterprise business revenue grew by approximately 10% YoY, with cloud business revenue expanding by around 40% YoY. By developing innovative AI-powered products, SKT plans to foster enterprise AI as the central pillar of its enterprise business. In the AI Service area, SKT began offering popular call-related features of A. – e.g. call summary, real-time call interpretation, etc. – that were first made available for the iOS version last December to Android users since April 2024. The company will continue to add attractive features to A. to further evolve the service into a truly personalized AI assistant. SKT’s subscription service T Universe has surpassed 2.6 million monthly active users as of the end of the first quarter affected by its YouTube Premium package. The company plans to develop T Universe into a subscription market in the first half of this year, expanding its range of partnerships and further solidifying its position as Korea's leading subscription service. Meanwhile, SKT announced that it will return at least 50% of its adjusted net income on a consolidated basis to shareholders as its shareholder return policy for the three-year period from this year to 2026. Compared to the previous policy, the guidelines have been revised to remove the upper limit and to share the performance of subsidiaries based on consolidated results. The dividend per share for the first quarter was finalized at KRW 830, the same as the first quarter of last year. "Our new shareholder return policy reflects our commitment to return more to shareholders as our performance improves," said Kim Yang-seob, CFO of SKT. "We will continue to increase corporate value by solidifying our mobile and fixed telecommunications business, improving profitability and efficiency, and creating tangible results in the AI business.” ※The conference call in regard to SKT’s 1Q 2024 earnings results can be heard via SKT’s webpage on Wednesday, May 8, from 15:00 Seoul Time. Link:https://irsvc.teletogether.com/skt/skt2024Q1_eng.php ※Attachment 1.Summary of Consolidated Income Statement(Unit: KRW billion) Type 24.1Q 23.1Q YoY 23.4Q QoQ Revenue 4,474.6 4,372.2 2.3% 4,527.3 -1.2% Operating Income 498.5 494.8 0.8% 297.1 67.8% Net Income 361.9 302.5 19.6% 187.4 93.1% ※Attachment 2.Summary of Non-Consolidated Income Statement(Unit: KRW billion) Type 24.1Q 23.1Q YoY 23.4Q QoQ Revenue 3,188.7 3,117.3 2.3% 3,204.3 -0.5% Operating Income 436.4 415.7 5.0% 254.0 71.8% Net Income 492.1 422.2 16.6% 114.4 330.2%
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SK Telecom Gets Certified by International AI Management System Standard2024.04.25
SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM, “SKT”) today announced that it received the ISO/IEC 42001 certification, an international standard for AI management systems. The ISO/IEC 42001 standard was jointly created by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). It guides businesses and organizations in ethical and responsible use of AI by providing a certifiable AI management system framework in which AI systems can be developed and deployed as part of an AI assurance ecosystem. The certification process thoroughly assesses the organization's AI management systems, including AI policy, AI risk handling and assessment, AI impact assessment, AI ethics compliance and regulatory response, and transparency in AI management processes. With the ISO/IEC 42001 certification, SKT has been internationally recognized for effectively implementing AI risk management based on reliability and stability. In January 2024, SKT introduced AI governance into its corporate management to facilitate sustainable value creation based on ethical use of AI technology and transparent decision making. To this end, the company established a dedicated AI governance organization headed by its Chief Governance Officer to build AI governance processes and create synergy with other organizations within the company. In March, SKT made public its AI governance principle called “T.H.E. AI,” which stands for “by Telco, for Humanity, with Ethics AI,” to lay the foundation for its decision-making system as a global AI company with roots in telecommunications. “With the acquisition of this international standard certification, we expect to strengthen our position as an AI company that communicates with stakeholders based on trust and safety,” said Jung Jai-hun, Chief Governance Officer of SKT.
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SKT collaborates with Aptos Labs, Brevan Howard and Microsoft to bring global institutional finance on-chain with Aptos Ascend2024.04.19
SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM, “SKT”) today announced a collaboration with Aptos Labs, Brevan Howard, and Microsoft to deliver to the global financial market Aptos Ascend, a suite of end-to-end institutional solutions including a permissioned network and Digital Asset Controls powered by SKT’s Wallet-as-a-Service product and the scalable, secure Aptos blockchain. Aptos Ascend will also tap Brevan Howard’s industry leadership and expertise to develop a seamless path for any major bank or financial institution to begin offering digital currency and asset management to their clients responsibly and at scale. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) will be Aptos Labs' preferred consulting partner, leveraging its global expertise in decentralized finance, digital assets, and AI to work with companies to implement the solutions. As one of the world's leading management consulting firms, BCG has a strong track record in delivering and implementing large-scale digital transformations for major financial institutions. “With a growing trend of tokenization in traditional finance, we expect the partnership to create a strong model for innovation in the future financial market," said Oh Se-hyeon, Vice President and Head of Web3 CO at SKT. “Built upon SKT's trusted KYC/authentication business experience, T wallet (Wallet as a Service) aims to provide a stable platform for various crypto services to be provided with high reliability and security.” “Global institutions require superior levels of compliance, security, trust, and innovation to service customers, operate across borders, and adhere to regulations at every level,” said Mo Shaikh, Co-Founder & CEO of Aptos Labs. “In collaboration with SKT, Brevan Howard and Microsoft, Aptos Ascend will provide the world’s financial institutions, banks, and tech-forward money markets with a performant, compliant, secure, and scalable gateway to decentralized finance on Aptos that will evolve for years to come.” “We see a tremendous opportunity at the intersection of AI and distributed ledger technologies and are pleased to support Aptosand the Ascend Project as they apply these technologies in financial services,"says Adrian Crockett, GM & Head of Product, Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services. “We continue to have high conviction in the positive impact that the application of Web3 and blockchain technology will have on the financial services industry,” said Gautam Sharma, CEO & CIO of Brevan Howard Digital. “It is still early days, and we are pleased to support initiatives like Ascend that may help propel the industry forward.” In addition to bringing traditional finance giants, innovative fintech partners, money market platforms, and global investment firms into the Web3 fold, Aptos Ascend will enable organizations to: • Unlock unparalleled transaction efficiency with the Aptos blockchain thanks to an industry-leading sub-second latency—built for scale to achieve more than 30,000 transactions per second (TPS). • Use the Move smart contract language and Digital Asset Controls, which provide secure asset management, privacy options, and formal verification of smart contracts, greatly reducing the risk of hacks. • Collaborate with like-minded partners to build an extended ecosystem from the start to deliver scale from day one to encourage adoption. • Further explore financial services solutions with dedicated support from the Aptos Labs’ engineering team to develop additional functions and features as required. The institution-ready, end-to-end financial suite will use Microsoft Azure and Azure OpenAI Service, along with Brevan Howard’s international and market-specific investment expertise, and SKT's regulatory-compliant Web3 technology, to pair innovative trade finance offerings with a decentralized, scalable, data-rich, and accessible network. Adding BCG’s strategic consulting expertise will enable Aptos Labs clients to implement the technology solutions seamlessly within their institutions. While the Aptos Ascend solutions will continue to evolve, immediate value at a global scale will take the form of: • Expanding decentralized finance to institutional capital. • Unlocking the uncollateralized lending market for Web3. • Releasing the liquidity of tokenized assets on a global scale. Aptos Ascend is designed to help regulated institutions around the world meet their obligations to customers, regulators, and other stakeholders. Further, Aptos Ascend includes unparalleled customizable configurations to meet specific business and regulatory requirements, including: • Access controls to help institutions meet regulatory requirements. • Controls over the types of transactions allowed and which entities can control transaction types. • Tools to maintain account and transaction privacy. • Embedded features for Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) checks and other regulatory considerations.