Shinsegae unifies AI strategy under Reflection AI

Apr 17, 2026, 07:21 pm

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Shinsegae Group and Reflection AI signed a strategic partnership MOU in March for the establishment of a “Korean Sovereign AI Factory.” From left: Misha Laskin, CEO of Reflection AI; Howard Lutnick, U.S. Secretary of Commerce; and Chung Yong-jin, Chairman of Shinsegae Group. / Courtesy of Shinsegae Group

Shinsegae Group has decided to consolidate its artificial intelligence (AI) partnership framework under Reflection AI, accelerating its push for retail innovation.

The company is abandoning its previous dual-track strategy—where software was handled by OpenAI and infrastructure by Reflection AI—and will instead integrate the entire process, from data center construction to service implementation, under a single partner.

Reflection AI is an AI startup founded in February 2024 by key developers from Google DeepMind, including CEO Misha Laskin and CTO Ioannis Antonoglou, who played a leading role in developing AlphaGo.

According to industry sources on April 17, Shinsegae and Reflection AI will collaborate to apply AI across all areas of retail operations. Following a memorandum of understanding signed last month in San Francisco to build a 250MW-scale AI data center, the partnership has now expanded to encompass the entire retail value chain. As a result, discussions with OpenAI have been discontinued.

At the core of this initiative is the “full AI transformation of the retail value chain.” Shinsegae plans to introduce AI across six key areas—product sourcing, ordering, pricing, logistics, inventory management, and customer management—to enhance operational efficiency.

In particular, applying AI to pricing and inventory management is expected to reduce excess stock and discount costs while enabling optimal pricing for customers.

A company official said, “Top executives from both sides are maintaining close communication between Korea and the U.S., while working-level teams are discussing execution plans through regular video conferences.”

On-site implementation will be led by E-Mart, the group’s core retail unit. Later this month, Reflection AI CEO Misha Laskin and other key executives are scheduled to visit Korea to meet with E-Mart teams, conduct workshops, and further develop pilot projects.

If demand forecasting and automated ordering systems based on E-Mart’s extensive customer data are successfully established, the model is expected to expand rapidly across the group.

Shinsegae is also moving forward with building a “Retail AI Full-Stack” system that can be applied across its entire business. The strategy aims to improve profitability through more efficient inventory management while strengthening logistics capabilities amid intensifying competition in delivery services.

A Shinsegae Group official said, “Based on our collaboration with Reflection AI, we plan to position AI as a new pillar of the group’s future vision,” adding, “We will move swiftly to drive AI innovation.”

#Shinsegae Group #Reflection AI #retail AI #AI data center