LG AI Research unveiled its evolving Exaone ecosystem on Tuesday, introducing a series of cutting-edge AI models and services developed in collaboration with global partners.
At the “LG AI Talk Concert 2025” held at LG Sciencepark in Seoul, the institute presented a lineup of AI innovations built on proprietary foundational models. These include Exaone 4.0—Korea’s first hybrid AI model that combines reasoning and generative capabilities—and Exaone Path 2.0, a precision medical AI system.
To enhance its global competitiveness, the institute plans to expand Exaone’s application across major industries such as biotechnology and finance.
“The evolution of agentic AI directly paves the way for physical AI, a technology that transforms the real world,” said Lee Hong-lak, the newly appointed co-president. “LG AI Research will accelerate the development of physical AI technology, enabling AI to perceive, judge, and effect changes in actual environments.”
While LG has predominantly offered its Exaone models as B2B products, the company has now introduced its advanced Exaone 4.0 model via API through the Friendly AI inference platform. This move allows companies and institutions to integrate the technology into real-world business applications.
Another significant announcement was the Exaone 4.0 VL, a multimodal vision-language model capable of interpreting complex professional documents, images, and molecular structures.
LG AI Research claims that this model outperformed Meta’s Llma 4 Scout in internal benchmarks, positioning it as a key component of the Exaone ecosystem—serving as its “eyes” in practical applications.
The event also marked the debut of ChatExaone’s beta version, an enterprise AI agent designed for secure internal use. Previously available only to LG Group employees, the beta is now accessible to enterprise and business accounts.
LG further introduced Exaone Data Foundry, a platform that streamlines the production of high-quality training data, along with Exaone On-Premise, a full-stack enterprise AI solution built entirely with Korean hardware and software for deployment in secure, standalone environments.
Arman Sahovic, APAC Head of Data Platform Solutions at the London Stock Exchange Group, showcased business intelligence services developed with Exaone. Sahovic explained that LSEG and LG AI Research are collaborating on a service that predicts return trends for investment assets and generates reports based on LSEG’s data, news, and disclosure information, thereby supporting global investment decisions.
At the event, LG AI Research’s chief researchers expressed their ambition to become one of the top three global players in AI. Their immediate goal is to lead in generative and agentic AI, with a long-term vision to pioneer physical AI—systems capable of autonomous reasoning and action to solve real-world problems.
“The race to secure AI technology has evolved from a corporate issue into a competition among nations,” stated Kim Yoo-chul, head of the Strategic Division. “Without a self-sustaining ecosystem, dependency deepens, and we risk falling behind. Building our own ecosystem is essential.”
Lee Hwa-young, vice president in charge of AI Business Development and the DX Group, emphasized the need for government support in developing infrastructure.
“To create good AI, you need data, talent, technology, and infrastructure. LG has everything except for the infrastructure,” Lee stated. “The government is now stepping in to build that infrastructure, and we’re working hard to remain at the forefront of technology and become one of the global top three in AI.”
The institute’s two co-presidents—who succeeded Bae Kyung-hoon following his appointment as Minister of Science and ICT—made their first official appearance. Lim Woo-hyung, one of the co-presidents, expressed pride in Bae’s new role and pledged to continue leading the institute with dedication.
“Our goal isn’t just to advance AI technology, but to implement it directly in industrial settings and create real business value,” Lim said. “We’re actively exploring ways to strengthen AI capabilities across LG affiliates and accelerate digital transformation.”
Co-president Lee Hong-lak added, “I will work to elevate LG AI Research to global excellence. We will continue developing Exaone into a world-class technology, support its adoption across the group, and help uncover new growth engines.”
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