Riyadh – Sharikat Mubasher: LG Uplus is teaming up with Zain Group, the region's largest telecommunications operator, to bring its AI agent service ‘ixi-O’ to the Middle East (ME).

According to an official press release, the partnership was formalized during MWC25 in Barcelona, where Lee Jae-won, LG Uplus Consumer Division Head, and Mohammed Abdulaziz AlNujaidi, Zain Group CTO, signed a business agreement.

Based in Kuwait, Zain Group operates in five Middle Eastern countries — Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, and Jordan — and three African nations. Under the agreement, LG Uplus will collaborate with Zain Group to introduce ixi-O in these markets.

The AI service offers features such as real-time voice phishing detection, visual call displays, call recording with summaries, and post-call search capabilities powered by on-device AI.

The rollout will begin with Zain KSA, Saudi Arabia’s third-largest telecom operator with 8.7 million customers. The move aligns with Saudi Arabia’s AI development goals under Vision 2030. LG Uplus aims to tailor ixi-O’s services using Zain KSA’s local data, with plans to launch the service in Saudi Arabia within the year.

Lee Jae-won emphasized that LG Uplus will continue collaborating with global operators to enhance its AI capabilities and expand its presence in international markets. Meanwhile, Mohammed Abdulaziz AlNujaidi highlighted that integrating ixi-O will improve customer experiences and align with the Kingdom’s digital transformation efforts.

Domestically, LG Uplus recently launched ixi-O’s Android version for Galaxy S25 users in Korea. The updated app includes an ‘AI search’ feature that retrieves location and restaurant details from calls, presented in a ‘YouTube Shorts’-style format. LG Uplus plans to expand ixi-O’s compatibility to additional Galaxy models in the future.