AI technology is a big priority for HYBE, the South Korean entertainment giant behind K-pop superstars BTS.
Evidence of that arrived in March when HYBE’s CEO Jiwon Park consented to have his own voice cloned to demonstrate the capabilities of the company’s proprietary AI on its Q1 investor call.
HYBE’s so-called ‘voice synthesis technology’ was developed by Supertone, the AI voice replication software startup in which HYBE acquired a majority stake in a $32 million dollar deal in 2023.
Founded in Seoul in 2020, Supertone claims to be able to create “a hyper-realistic and expressive voice that [is not] distinguishable from real humans”.
Supertone’s purported ability to do just that makes the apparent strategy behind HYBE’s multi-million dollar investment in the technology a lot clearer, when viewed through the lens of comments shared by HYBE Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk in an interview last year.
“I have long doubted that the entities that create and produce music will remain human,” said Bang Si-Hyuk.
“I don’t know how long human artists can be the only ones to satisfy human needs and human tastes. And that’s becoming a key factor for my operation and a strategy for HYBE.”