With its latest investment, Big Hit Entertainmenthas set its sights on using artificial intelligence (AI) to create content for music fans.
On 25 February, it was announced that the entertainment company, which is the home to global sensations BTS, had poured a hefty sum of 4 billion won (around US$3.6 million) into Supertone, a South Korean tech firm that uses AI technology to synthesise voices.
Last month, Supertone made the headlines for reproducing the voice of South Korean folk-rock icon Kim Kwang-seok, who passed away in 1996. Through the use of AI technology, which analysed a number of songs from Kim's repertoire, the company was able to bring the singer back to "perform" a cover of Kim Bum-soo's 2002 hit 'I Miss You.'
Supertone is also known for creating "highly realistic and expressive" new digital voices that are "indistinguishable" from those of real people. One example would an original AI voice that recorded a cover of singer-songwriter Lee Sun-hee's 'Fox Rain.'