LG Uplus said Tuesday it reached an agreement with Malaysian telecom operator Maxis to commercially launch its AI call assistant ixi-O in Malaysia, marking the first overseas rollout under the company’s global AI expansion strategy unveiled at MWC 2026.
Maxis, one of Malaysia’s largest telecommunications providers, serves more than 10 million mobile users across its nationwide 4G and 5G networks.
LG Uplus CEO Hong Beom-sik met Maxis CEO Goh Seow Eng and other senior executives at Maxis headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday to discuss commercialization plans for ixi-O.
Ixi-O is an AI-based call assistant platform designed for overseas telecom markets and customized for local carrier environments. LG Uplus said the service is scheduled for release in Malaysia within the year.
The company said the service will offer AI-powered calling features optimized for Malaysian users, with its on-device AI engine supporting locally used English expressions through multilingual language processing capabilities.
The two companies are also exploring broader cooperation in AI-powered smart home services and business-to-business solutions.
LG Uplus said the agreement represents the first concrete business outcome from the company’s global AI software strategy announced at MWC 2026, where Hong outlined plans to transform the telecom carrier into a global AI software company.
“We are tailoring ixi-O to fit Malaysia’s communications environment and will continue expanding in the global software-as-a-service market,” Hong said.
“Ixi-O is a meaningful service for enhancing customer value, and LG Uplus demonstrated strong security and on-device AI technologies,” Goh said. “We look forward to broader business cooperation following this agreement.”
By Lee Han-gyoul (stlee0329@heraldcorp.com)
