![[MWC 2026] AI Red Team Challenge](https://datumo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/MWC_01-scaled.jpg)
In March, the world’s largest mobile communications exhibition, MWC 2026, came to a close.
On this global stage—bringing together leading telecom operators and big tech companies from around the world—Datumo successfully carried out two key missions:
Co-hosted the Global AI Red Team Challenge with GSMA for the second consecutive year
Operated a booth at the SK Telecom exhibition hall, showcasing our AI reliability evaluation platform, Datumo Platform
It may have been a short trip, but it was one of the most intense and rewarding. Let’s take a closer look at what we experienced on the ground in Barcelona this March.
The theme of MWC 2026 was “The IQ Era.” Centered around six key topics—including intelligent infrastructure, Connected AI, and enterprise AI—the event offered a comprehensive look at how global companies are advancing their AI strategies.
One of the biggest highlights this year was the vision telecom companies presented for transforming themselves from traditional network operators into full-fledged AI companies. As AI is being integrated into telecom services at an accelerating pace, one question emerged as a major theme across the exhibition: How can we truly verify the safety of these AI systems? At MWC, Datumo brought that question into focus and presented a clear answer on the ground, backed by its differentiated technical expertise.
AI Red Team Challenge Returns for a Second Consecutive Year
AI Red Team participants
As AI adoption accelerates across the telecom industry, AI safety and reliability are becoming more important than ever. In a sector built around personalized services, even small hallucinations or errors can lead to significant risks, making the ability to detect and address them in advance increasingly critical.
This year’s Global AI Red Team Challenge took place on March 3 at Talent Arena, an official side event venue of MWC, and drew more than 130 participants. Interest was so strong that entry had to be limited once the venue filled up.
This year’s challenge featured real-world LLMs currently being deployed by global telecom players, including:
SK Telecom’s A.X K1
LG Uplus’s ixi-GEN
AT&T’s Ask AT&T
NetoAI’s Tslam
TelecomGPT, developed by Khalifa University and GSMA in the UAE
Participants attempted a wide range of prompt attacks, trying to force the models into generating false or misleading information and expose their weaknesses.
Curious who came out on top?
AI Red Team Challenge Overview by CSO Michael Hwang (left) and Group Photo with Participants (right)
Data engineer Haktan Kocyigit took first place in this year’s Red Team Challenge, receiving a €1,000 prize along with a ticket to MWC 2027! 👏🏼
Focused on improvement, not exposing vulnerabilities
Rather than ranking models against one another or publicly disclosing the results, this year’s challenge was designed as a private, non-competitive program. Both participants and judges evaluated the models in anonymized form, without knowing which company or system they were testing. The program was also structured so that no specific model’s vulnerabilities would be revealed externally, creating a space for collaborative validation rather than competition.
Datumo’s AI reliability evaluation platform, Datumo Platform, supported the challenge throughout its operation. It was recognized for enabling stable performance and real-time result analysis even in an environment where many participants were logged in simultaneously and launching multiple attacks at once.
Datumo also consolidated the potential vulnerability data uncovered during the challenge and shared it with participating telecom companies, helping them use those insights to improve their AI models and further advance their services.
Beyond the Red Team Challenge, Datumo also operated an exhibition booth at MWC, offering a firsthand look at its technology. This booth was made possible with the support of SK Telecom, with whom Datumo has built a strong partnership through the ‘Sovereign AI Foundation Model’ project.
Group Photo of Participating Companies at the SK Telecom Exhibition Hall, MWC 2026
Datumo Platform, Showcased on the Global Stage
At MWC 2026, Datumo introduced both the Datumo Platform and its Dataset Store to a global audience.
Datumo Platform
An end-to-end platform that integrates the entire AI reliability evaluation process—including automated red teaming. From data preparation and evaluation to red teaming and analysis, it enables a seamless and structured workflow.
Dataset Store
A service that provides immediate access to high-quality, fully licensed datasets, ready for use without copyright concerns.
Throughout the event, the booth attracted visitors from a wide range of industries, including big tech, telecom, finance, and major Korean enterprises. Notably, representatives from leading global telecom companies—such as SoftBank, Orange, and Deutsche Telekom—expressed strong interest, exploring potential collaboration opportunities around evaluating and validating their AI models.
Datumo Booth (left) and an Engaging Presentation by CSO Michael Hwang (right)
“The strong turnout of global industry professionals and the high level of engagement from attendees clearly demonstrated the growing importance of AI reliability validation across the industry.”
— Michael Hwang, CSO at Datumo
As we witnessed at MWC, the success of telecom AI now depends not only on cutting-edge performance, but on a strong foundation of safety and trust. Datumo is evolving the Red Team Challenge beyond a one-time event into a sustainable driver of service competitiveness, while building global standards for AI reliability—ensuring that AI can be safely integrated into everyday life.
From Barcelona, Datumo is expanding its global footprint to cities like Las Vegas, Beijing, and Doha. Stay tuned as we continue shaping a new standard for AI reliability.
