[Edaily Reporter Kim Hyun-ah ] The competition in generative artificial intelligence (AI) is shifting from the development of large language models (LLMs) to “how quickly AI can be integrated into the field.”

As “Chonbang Engineers” (FDEs)—who are dispatched directly to client companies to drive business innovation—emerge as a new competitive advantage, global Big Tech companies are rushing to invest in this area.

The leading company in this model is the U.S. AI firm Palantir. Recently, Amazon Web Services (AWS) invested $1 billion (approximately 1.4 trillion won) to establish a dedicated organization, and in South Korea, Naver Cloud has also formed an FDE team to target the defense AI market.

On the 2nd, AWS announced the creation of the “AWS FDE” organization—which will directly deploy specialized AI engineers to client sites to jointly develop Agent AI—and revealed a $1 billion investment.

The End

of

the Era of “Delivering” AI… The Era of Co-Creating on-site

FDE differs from the traditional approach of simply supplying AI solutions.

Engineers will be embedded within customer organizations to design and develop AI systems alongside frontline employees, taking on the role of applying AI to actual business processes. The key is to transfer the necessary technology and know-how so that customers can independently operate the AI even after deployment is complete.

AWS plans to use Agent AI to reduce the time required to build AI systems—which previously took several months—to just a few days, and to support customers in operating AI independently even after the project is completed.

To this end, AWS provides a framework that includes building a knowledge graph linking customer data and metadata, as well as developing operational manuals and training in-house experts. The goal is to ensure that AI learns an organization’s knowledge and work methods so it can be continuously utilized.

Unlike traditional consulting, which ends on a project-by-project basis, AWS explained that it aims for a long-term collaboration model that builds the customer’s AI capabilities themselves.

“Field-Oriented AI” Proven by Palantir

Palantir is the company that has most successfully utilized the FDE model.

Palantir has grown not by simply selling software, but by directly deploying its engineers to the Department of Defense, government agencies, and manufacturing companies to build AI systems in collaboration with customers. These engineers go beyond the role of developers to analyze customers’ workflows and design AI systems to function effectively in real-world environments.

The industry assesses that this field-centric FDE strategy lies at the heart of Palantir’s strong foothold in the U.S. government and defense sectors.

Recently, in the AI market as well, competitiveness has shifted from the technology itself to how quickly a company can transform its operations using AI (AX), leading to a rapid increase in demand for FDE.

Naver Also Fully Deploys FDE for Defense AI

FDE organizations are also spreading within South Korea.

Naver Cloud recently established a dedicated Defense AX organization (led by Yoo Kyung-beom, Head of Business Development and Strategy) reporting directly to CEO Kim Yu-won. This organization operates as a project-based unit that integrates personnel from planning, sales, development, and technical support.

A key feature is the large-scale deployment of FDE personnel who are directly assigned to military sites to support the construction of customized AI systems. Since security and on-site understanding are more critical for defense AI than for general enterprises, the strategy is to secure business competitiveness through engineers who work closely with the field.

Analysts note that both AWS and Naver (NAVER(035420)) view “how quickly AI can be integrated into a customer’s organization” as a key competitive advantage, rather than simply “building good AI.”

NFL Also Commercializes AI Services in Just a Few Weeks

AWS is already collaborating with the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Allen Institute, Cox Automotive, Ricoh, and Southwest Airlines using the FDE model.

The NFL announced that AWS engineers worked directly on-site to commercialize “NFL Fantasy AI” and “NFL IQ” in just a few weeks.

AWS has also applied FDE models across various industries, including enhancing BMW’s connected car services, building an AI production assistant for the manufacturing company Jabil, and automating customer support for the ride-sharing company Lyft.

An industry insider stated, “As the generative AI market matures, the focus of competition is shifting from model performance to on-site execution capabilities,” adding, “Going forward, the extent to which companies secure FDE will be a key factor determining the competitiveness of AI platform companies.”