‘모두의 AI’ 생태계 넓히는 SKT… 해시드 OBA.RUN 해커톤 현장

SK Telecom (SKT) expanded its ‘모두의 AI’ ecosystem by collaborating with startups and external developers at the ‘OBA.RUN Weekendthon Season 2’ hackathon hosted by HashiD in Seoul’s Gangnam District on July 7. The event, sponsored by OpenAI and others, aimed to explore AI services capable of handling practical tasks beyond search and recommendations, with SKT providing its A.X K2 API to participants.

HashiD, a global investor in blockchain and AI startups, organized the hackathon under its OBA (Open Builders Alliance) program, which connects developers with corporate APIs to build functional prototypes. Participants combined technologies from multiple companies to create products addressing real user needs, such as assisting job seekers or managing small business operations, while SKT and HashiD sought to identify promising AI startups for future collaboration.

The hackathon featured sessions including an ‘Unplugged’ walk-and-talk format for idea sharing and a ‘LETS’ discussion segment where participants debated topics like automated content creation and AI-driven investment agents. A total of 34 teams submitted projects, with nine winning awards across six categories, including SKT’s ‘모두의 AI Award,’ which recognized ‘땅땅’ for its consideration of non-purchase decisions and ‘한고리’ for proposing a familiar telephony-based payment method.

SKT plans to review the technical and business feasibility of the hackathon’s outcomes and explore further collaboration with external developers and startups to advance its vision of AI agents that execute real-world tasks, such as seamless shopping and reservation workflows, with a focus on secure payment delegation and user approval processes.