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KT Corporation and Microsoft Take ‘Giant Step’ to Accelerate AI Innovation in Korea

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Five-year, multi-billion-dollar strategic partnership to drive AI transformation for more than 650 thousand businesses and 17 million consumers across Korea 

Korea-customized AI model collaboration, including OpenAI’s GPT-4o through Azure OpenAI Service, to enable emerging AI use cases for different industry verticals   

KT and Microsoft collaborate on Korean sovereign cloud solution development and market launch to drive cloud and AI innovation for the public sector and regulated industries 

KT will launch a new AX-specialized service company delivering Microsoft-powered AI transformation service to enterprise customers  

KT and Microsoft to further partner for AI ecosystem development and joint R&D, through initiatives including an AX co-innovation center and a Microsoft Research collaboration  

SEOUL, South Korea and REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — KT Corporation and Microsoft today unveiled a five-year multibillion-dollar partnership, which includes an investment from KT in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud technologies, and IT business, and a resource commitment from Microsoft in the areas of infrastructure and people. Through this partnership, the companies will propel KT’s AI and ICT (AICT) transformation, and accelerate the advancement of AI services and innovation in Korea. 

Following the agreement in June, KT and Microsoft have engaged in ongoing discussions to strengthen ties and outline key areas of collaboration and support. This strategic partnership is expected to drive progress in five pivotal areas: Development of customized AI solutions for Korea, delivering Korean sovereign cloud solutions, the establishment of an AI transformation (AX)-specialized service company, AI R&D capabilities advancement across Korea and KT’s AICT transformation. 

Developing Customized AI Solutions for Korea
KT and Microsoft will engage in engineering collaboration to develop a customized version of GPT-4o and explore developing a customized version of Microsoft’s Phi family of small language models, with KT’s extensive set of high-quality data around Korean culture and industries. These models will be used for both KT’s internal and consumer-facing applications such as customer service chatbots, and also for building industry-specific AI solutions for B2B customers across industry verticals to best serve the needs of Korean consumers and businesses. KT will leverage Microsoft Copilot Studio and Azure AI Studio to develop custom AI agents aimed at differentiating customer experiences. KT plans to expand the development and utilization of KT-custom AI agents not only for consumer use cases in education, healthcare, and in-vehicle infotainment, but also for business applications. Importantly, Microsoft and KT will collaborate closely on further evolving KT’s Responsible AI framework to help ensure the delivery of safe AI services for the Korea market. 

“We are delighted with the partnership between KT and Microsoft, which presents a valuable opportunity to enhance our digital competitiveness,” said Shinhan Bank, a leading financial group in Korea. “By utilizing the KT GPT model, specialized in Korean language and financial services, we aim to deliver innovative AI-driven services to the domestic financial consumers.” 

Delivering Korean sovereign cloud solutions
KT and Microsoft are partnering to develop and launch Secure Public Cloud services, which is KT’s sovereign cloud solution built on Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty for Korean-regulated industries. KT will drive its Secure Public Cloud business with support from Microsoft, enabling public sector and regulated industry customers to use new platform capabilities for securing data and workloads, providing access to the latest cloud and AI features available on Azure and helping them comply with local privacy and regulatory requirements. 

Accelerating AI transformation through AX-Specialized service company 
KT will establish a new AX-specialized service company to help businesses in Korea transform with the latest AI innovation. The forthcoming KT’s AX-specialized service company will provide advanced Microsoft Cloud and AI expertise and solutions to the Korean market, with plans to expand to broader markets, including ASEAN. Microsoft will support this initiative over the next three years with professional consulting resources to build core practices and capabilities for the new entity. 

Advancing AI R&D capabilities across Korea
Microsoft will support KT in establishing a co-innovation center aimed at accelerating Microsoft technology-driven AI transformation in the Korean market. This center will help businesses build, develop and prototype new AI solutions with Microsoft technology and KT’s AI specialists. Furthermore, KT will invest in fostering new AI startups and developing a partner ecosystem to support nationwide AI transformation. Microsoft will support this initiative by providing Azure credits and technical expertise. For the future of technology collaboration, KT and Microsoft Research (MSR)’s research leaders and business visionaries will explore high-impact research initiatives in network modernization, AI for healthcare, and industry AI adoption and further collaborate with leading academic institutions partnering with KT. 

Accelerating KT’s AICT Transformation with organization-wide upskilling
KT will migrate and modernize existing IT workloads including mission-critical applications, to Microsoft Azure while developing a new data platform and AI services powered by Microsoft Fabric and Azure OpenAI Service. This collaboration will enhance KT’s overall IT infrastructure, making it more agile, resilient, and secure, driving innovation and elevating the customer experience through intelligent automation. KT also intends to deploy Microsoft 365 Copilot and GitHub Copilot, for all KT employees and developers to supercharge productivity of the entire business. Microsoft will assist KT in equipping more than 19,000 employees with cloud and AI skills and enabling more than 5,800 AX specialists to lead a successful transformation through KT group-wide skilling and co-engineering support. 

“The partnership with Microsoft presents a pivotal opportunity, not only for technological collaboration but also for expanding Korea’s AI foundation and driving transformative innovation across industries and daily life,” said KT CEO Young-Shub Kim. “Leveraging this strategic partnership, we aim to rapidly evolve into an AICT company with unparalleled competitiveness in domestic and global markets.”  

“Our strategic partnership brings together KT’s industry expertise with the power of our entire tech stack, from Azure AI to Microsoft 365 Copilot,” said Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft. “Together, we will help accelerate the AI transformation of Korean organizations across the private and public sector and build new AI-powered experiences for millions of consumers.”

About KT Corporation
KT Corporation is a leading company in Korea’s telecommunications and ICT industries. By building an AX innovation platform based on differentiated AI, Big Data and Cloud competitiveness, and offering it with outstanding network infrastructure, KT is driving evolution into an AICT (AI and ICT) company.

About Microsoft 
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. 

For more information, press only:
Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777, rapidresponse@we-worldwide.com

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SOURCE Microsoft Asia

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As AI Speeds Up Marketing, Louisville’s RedTag Bets on Strategy

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Independent agency unveils new brand and website, and co-hosts Louisville’s PROOF AI Workshop

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — RedTag, an independent Louisville-based marketing agency, this month unveiled new positioning, marking its evolution from a digital performance agency into a strategy-first marketing partner. The move comes as AI makes execution faster than ever, and RedTag is betting that strategy, not speed, is what will set businesses apart. Clients can now choose from outcome-based programs that best fit their marketing needs. 

“Clients don’t come to us needing more tactics. They come to us needing a path,” said Russ Renbarger, founder and CEO of RedTag. “Our new brand says out loud what our work has shown for years: We start with strategy and build everything on that foundation.”

RedTag built its reputation on high-performing paid digital campaigns. Over the years, the agency expanded into strategy, creative, video production and website development, giving clients one partner for the full scope of their marketing. Most recently, a team of automation specialists has integrated AI across the agency to speed up production and analysis, guided by an internal AI policy that keeps people accountable for quality. The time AI saves goes back into strategy: knowing what to say, who to say it to and why.

“Our best client relationships have always been partnerships, where we’re in the room when the big decisions get made,” said Alison Conway, chief client officer at RedTag. “This evolution is about bringing that strategic partnership to every client.”

On Oct. 14, RedTag co-hosted the PROOF AI Workshop with Slingshot, Vsimple and Advanced Business Solutions. The hands-on event gave Louisville business leaders practical experience applying AI to their own work. RedTag led the event’s AI in Marketing and Branding track, with four sessions ranging from AI search optimization to a playbook for adopting AI across an organization.

“AI can produce hundreds of ads in an afternoon, but it can’t tell you which one your brand actually needs and why,” Renbarger said. “The faster the tools get, the more valuable human-led strategy becomes.”

RedTag was named the agency of record for the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 2025. Its client list includes PGA of America, Castle & Key Distillery, Bourbon Barrel Foods, ShopCaterpillar and American Beverage Marketers. Since 2023, RedTag’s work has received two Emmy Awards and more than 35 ADDY and AIGA awards. The agency is a four-time Louisville Business First Fast 50 honoree and was named one of the 2026 Best Places to Work in Kentucky.

To learn more about its outcome-based programs, visit RedTag Programs

About RedTag

RedTag is an independent, strategy-first marketing agency based in Louisville, Kentucky. Established in 2008, the agency starts every engagement by understanding the goal before recommending tactics. With a foundation rooted in discovery, RedTag delivers full-scale marketing campaigns built around each client’s business goals. RedTag serves organizations across hospitality, sports, agriculture, government, retail and consumer packaged goods. Learn more at redtag.agency.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/as-ai-speeds-up-marketing-louisvilles-redtag-bets-on-strategy-302911869.html

SOURCE RED TAG LLC

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The National Association of Mortgage Brokers Announces its Launch of MORE, New Mortgage Education and Professional Development Platform

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NAMB MORE brings training, credentials, professional development and daily mortgage market information together in one place

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) the first and only national volunteer-led and membership-driven organization representing the interests of mortgage brokers and home buyers since 1973, today announced the launch of NAMB MORE(Mortgage Originator Resources and Education), a new learning and professional development platform designed to give mortgage professionals the education, resources and information they need to grow throughout their careers.

MORE officially launches today during NAMB National 2026, being held October 16–19 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The platform is designed as a long-term resource for mortgage professionals at every career stage, bringing training, credentials, professional development and timely industry information together in one place.

Mortgage professionals can learn more and access the platform at nambhasmore.org. Access to MORE will be free through NAMB Focus, January 7–9, 2027. Users must have a NAMB member profile to access the learning management system.

“NAMB MORE represents a significant investment in the future of mortgage professionals and the continued advancement of our industry,” said Michael Farrell, President of NAMB. “We wanted to create more than a collection of courses; we wanted to build a resource that professionals can turn to throughout their careers. NAMB MORE delivers valuable education, professional development and practical information members can apply to their businesses daily. ‘NAMB has MORE’ is a mantra the entire organization embraces, reflecting our commitment to providing the industry with innovative tools that support professional growth, strengthen advocacy and help foster our members’ success. “MORE was developed with the mortgage industry in mind, with NAMB and subject-matter experts contributing to the platform’s educational content.”

The platform is designed to support mortgage professionals from their first year in the business through experienced production, management and leadership roles. Educational resources span foundational mortgage knowledge, loan origination, mortgage programs and products, business growth, sales and marketing, borrower experience, professional development and more.

The MORE course library includes content across core categories such as:

Business Strategy & GrowthLoan OriginationMortgage FoundationsMortgage Programs & ProductsProfessional Development & Workplace SkillsSales, Marketing & Borrower ExperienceGeneral

Additional learning resources and credentials are designed to help mortgage professionals continue developing their skills as their careers evolve.

A key component of the new platform is the MORE Daily Dashboard, which serves as the home screen members see when they log into MORE. Rather than requiring members to visit the platform only when completing a course or pursuing a credential, the Daily Dashboard is designed to give mortgage professionals a reason to return every day.

The Daily Dashboard currently features:

Mortgage Rate Alert Widget: Provides information about the factors affecting mortgage rates and refreshes at least hourly.Upcoming Events: Highlights NAMB events and opportunities so members can stay connected to the association and industry.Daily Access to MORE: Provides a central starting point for accessing education, professional development and other resources.

“The Daily Dashboard is an important part of what makes MORE different,” added Farrell. “We want MORE to become part of a mortgage professional’s daily routine. Whether someone is checking the latest rate information, looking for an upcoming NAMB event or continuing their professional education, MORE puts useful resources in one place.”

About NAMB: The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has been the only national volunteer-led and membership-driven organization representing the interests of mortgage professionals and homebuyers since 1973. NAMB provides mortgage professionals with advocacy, education, and rigorous certification programs to recognize members with the highest levels of professional knowledge and education. NAMB’s active lobbying and advocacy efforts focus on national and state issues, protecting the interests of its members and borrowers. As the leading national trade association for the mortgage industry, NAMB is affiliated with state associations throughout the country and represents the interests of more than 546,800 licensed and registered Mortgage Loan Originators and 49,100 licensed Mortgage Broker and Mortgage Lender businesses throughout the U.S. www.namb.org

Media Contact

Joshua Steinfeld, Steinfeld Consulting, 1 339-225-1581, steinfeldconsulting@gmail.com

View original content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/the-national-association-of-mortgage-brokers-announces-its-launch-of-more-new-mortgage-education-and-professional-development-platform-302910967.html

SOURCE The National Association of Mortgage Brokers

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The United States Golf Association Selects Gupta Media as Paid Media Agency of Record

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The appointment comes as the USGA looks to continue to strengthen brand equity and increase awareness and engagement with golfers nationwide

BOSTON, Oct. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The USGA, the non-profit governing body of golf in the United States, has named Gupta Media its paid media agency of record following a competitive pitch process that began in February. Gupta Media will lead paid media strategy, planning, buying and reporting in support of the USGA’s Championship ticketing and broader commercial initiatives, while helping grow brand equity, awareness and engagement across the organization. Its work will span key USGA priorities, including golf’s official Handicap Index® and GHIN app; the Rules of Golf and the USGA’s governance of the game; Membership; and initiatives that advance golf through sustainability, research and innovation, and greater access and inclusion. The relationship expands beyond media execution to include audience strategy, first-party data integration, measurement and optimization.

“Gupta Media stood out for its ability to connect the dots between data, audience strategy, media and creative to real business outcomes, so we’re incredibly excited for this next chapter.”

The relationship comes at an important moment for the USGA, with the organization focused on continuing to expand its reach and deepening brand affinity across the ever-growing, diverse golf community. Gupta Media will help drive ticket sales for some of the sport’s biggest events, including the 2027 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links, the 2027 U.S. Women’s Open at Inverness Club, the 2028 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club and the 2028 U.S. Women’s Open at Oakmont Country Club. The agency will also support the USGA in creating greater awareness and brand recognition for its corporate Partners through co-branded content and paid media.

Golf has an enormous network of people who love the game, creating a growing opportunity to build a deeper, more direct relationship between golfers and the organization. That challenge is exactly what Gupta Media is built to strategically address — from growing membership and promoting ticket sales for major live events to reaching new audiences and understanding customer lifetime value. By bringing together audience insights, first-party data and media performance, Gupta Media will help the USGA create more relevant, effective marketing that drives measurable business results while strengthening its connection with the next generation of golfers.

“We were looking for an agency that could bring a deep understanding of our audiences, a genuine enthusiasm for our mission and the strategic expertise to work with us through this next phase of golf’s growth,” said Lynn LaRocca, USGA’s Managing Director of Brand & Marketing. “Gupta Media stood out for its ability to connect the dots between data, audience strategy, media and creative to real business outcomes, so we’re incredibly excited for this next chapter.”

“There’s a personal element to this partnership that makes it especially rewarding. My golf journey began 30 years ago when I first visited Pebble Beach as a teenager, long before I could imagine actually playing on the course,” said Gogi Gupta, Founder, Gupta Media. “To now have the opportunity to connect that lifelong passion for the game with the work we’ve spent years building and fine-tuning our agency to do feels like kismet. We’re eager to bring our proficiency to an organization that plays a leading role in the great game.”

The relationship brings together Gupta Media’s deep experience in sports marketing with its data-driven approach to audience strategy, media and creative. The agency has developed a specialized set of tools and processes to address data and analytics challenges of sports and live events, including TallyTickets.com, its proprietary ticketing analytics platform that helps teams understand sales trends, forecast demand and make more informed marketing and media decisions. Gupta Media’s experience spans sports, entertainment, premium events, and pop culture, giving the agency a comprehensive understanding of the audience models and fan behaviors that shape the industry.

About the USGA:

The USGA is a mission-based golf organization whose purpose is to unify the golf community through handicapping and grassroots programs; to showcase the game’s best talent through the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, and 13 other national championships and our museum; to provide unbiased global governance with The R&A through the playing, equipment and Amateur Status rules; and to advance issues important to golf’s future, with a focus on driving sustainability.

About Gupta Media:

Gupta Media, a certified Minority Business Enterprise, is a strategic consultancy at the intersection of creative strategy, digital media, advanced analytics, and performance marketing. We drive growth for professional sports franchises, global tech leaders, DTC brands, major music labels, and other high-profile organizations by building intelligent media plans, best-in-class reporting tools, and custom enterprise technology. Founded 25 years ago by Cornell grad Gogi Gupta, the agency is known for developing new methods of maximizing advertising efficiency in a digital-first world. Harvard Business School’s case study on Gupta Media was taught to all incoming students for three years and is still taught around the globe.

Media Contact

Carly Carioli, Gupta Media, 1 617-682-3733, ccarioli@guptamedia.com, guptamedia.com

View original content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/the-united-states-golf-association-selects-gupta-media-as-paid-media-agency-of-record-302911621.html

SOURCE Gupta Media

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