South Korean operator SK Telecom has announced that its mobile app store One Store has attracted investments from Microsoft and Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners. One Store has received a total of USD 15 million (approximately KRW 16.8 billion) in investment from Microsoft and Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners.
This investment comes as an extension of business partnerships signed by SK Telecom with Microsoft and Deutsche Telekom in 5G, cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) areas. In the mid-to long-term, SK Telecom and One Store plan to cooperate with Microsoft and Deutsche Telekom in the gaming industry, collaborate in cloud, and expand One Store’s platform to global markets.
SK Telecom and Microsoft plan to expand their current partnership in 5G-based cloud gaming to create new opportunities for Korean game content and creators. The two companies have been delivering a differentiated mobile gaming experience to Korean gamers through Xbox cloud gaming technology and Microsoft Azure for gaming access on mobile devices.
SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom plan to jointly create new opportunities for One Store in the global mobile game market, using Deutsche Telekom’s presence in Europe. The two companies also expect One Store to also serve as a bridge for global game companies to access the European market.
SK Telecom also expects that One Store will also be able to expand in the content business including web novels and webtoons (mobile and digital comics).
One Store recently acquired Rok Media, a publishing company for genre fiction, and established a content studio joint venture with Yes24 to expand into diverse businesses.
