SK, Japan's NTT Launch $700 Million Fund for Future Telecom Technology

SK Group and Japan's NTT are planning to establish a joint fund worth 700 billion won to promote the adoption of next-generation optical communication technologies.

According to Yonhap News, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun reported that NTT will jointly establish a fund with SK Group, Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom, and the Development Bank of Japan by the end of this month to commercialize 'IOWN' (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network), a next-generation optical communication technology. The fund's scale is expected to be between 70 billion and 80 billion yen (approximately 670 billion to 760 billion won).

IOWN is a technology characterized by low power consumption, high speed, and large-capacity transmission by converting data processing from electricity to light. NTT aims to expand IOWN's global adoption and establish it as an international standard technology.

Numerous Japanese companies, including Samsung Electronics, GlobalFoundries, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Toshiba, Sony Group, and Fujitsu, have reportedly shown interest in investing in the IOWN fund. The fund is intended to invest in promising startups in the optoelectronic convergence field, software, and communication-related technology companies that process data using light.