The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025, the world's largest mobile exhibition set to open on March 3 (local time) in Barcelona, Spain, is expected to be a battlefield for the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. This year's MWC will gather global AI representatives, including Aravind Srinivasan, CEO of Purple City, and Arthur Menshu, CEO of Mistral AI, along with leaders from corporations spanning software and hardware, including Yang Yuanqing, CEO of Lenovo.
According to the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), which organizes MWC, this year's slogan is 'Converge. Connect. Create.' The six sub-themes include '5G Inside,' 'Connect X,' 'AI+,' 'Enterprise Re-invented,' 'Game Changer,' and 'Digital DNA.'
This year's MWC will primarily focus on AI-related agendas, continuing from last year. Last year, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind and known as the 'father of AlphaGo,' garnered attention at MWC. This year, Srinivasan, CEO of Purple City, is set to participate as the keynote speaker, presenting on methods to promote collaboration among corporations. Purple City is the AI model that Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, has referenced. Through collaboration with SK Telecom last year, Purple City began offering chatbot services to SK Telecom's AI assistant 'A-dot.'
Arthur Menshu, CEO of Mistral AI, will explain the process by which Mistral AI gained global attention in his keynote address. As of June last year, Mistral AI had received about 1.6 trillion won in cumulative investments, drawing industry interest. Nvidia, Samsung, Salesforce, and Naver have also invested in Mistral AI. Peter Sarin, founder and Vice President of AMD at Silo AI, will also visit Barcelona during MWC. Silo AI was acquired by AMD in July last year for $665 million (about 951.9 billion won) to help chase competitor Nvidia in the AI field.
Yang Yuanqing, CEO of Lenovo, will also visit Barcelona to discuss AI solutions and AI-based smart devices. Since joining Lenovo in 1989, CEO Yang has raised the company's value to 89 trillion won.
Global telecom CEOs will also discuss digital transformation trends, including AI, at MWC. Timotheus Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom; Marc Murtra, CEO of Telefónica; Christel Heydeman, CEO of Orange; and Margherita Della Valle, CEO of Vodafone, will participate in the keynote address and share their views on the challenges Europe must tackle to achieve digital advancement.
The CEOs of South Korea's three major telecom companies will also participate in MWC 2025. Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, plans to demonstrate the upcoming North American AI assistant 'Esther' and push for expanded cooperation through a meeting of the 'Global Telco AI Alliance,' which includes five telecom companies such as Deutsche Telekom and SoftBank. Kim Young-seop, CEO of KT, is set to discuss collaboration with Microsoft (MS) on the AX (AI transformation) institutional sector at the event. Hong Beom-sik, CEO of LG Uplus, will set up a standalone booth for the first time and attend his first external event as CEO at MWC, aiming to promote the synergy between LG Uplus's AI assistant 'Exio' and the AI model 'Exawon' from LG's AI Research Institute.
Minister of Science and ICT Yoo Sang-im and Vice Chairperson Kim Tae-kyu of the Korea Communications Commission will also attend MWC 2025 as part of the government delegation. Minister Yoo plans to arrange a meeting with Brendan Carr, Chairperson of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from the Donald Trump administration.
Kim Byung-jun, a professor in the Department of Business Administration at Catholic University, noted, "In a situation where the growth of the mobile communication market has slowed, the industry is trying to find new vitality through AI," explaining why AI-related speakers are gaining attention at MWC 2025, despite it being a mobile exhibition.