OpenAI to Enhance Kakao’s Services in South Korea

A day after joining hands with Japan’s SoftBank to develop AI for Japanese companies, OpenAI on Tuesday said that it has entered into a strategic collaboration with Kakao, South Korea’s leading mobile communication company.

Kakao, which is the provider of KakaoTalk, Korea’s most popular messaging service, said that the collaboration will focus on developing and enhancing Kakao’s services by leveraging OpenAI’s advanced AI technology, tailored to the unique needs of Korean users, and making it more accessible.

KakaoTalk, which has a whopping 97% domestic market share, has expanded into areas such as e-commerce, payments and gaming. It has positioned AI as a new engine of growth but is reportedly lagging behind local rival Naver in the AI race.

The key areas of focus include a new and enhanced communication service ‘Kanana,’ a user-friendly “AI Agent,” that delivers personalised, context-aware responses, will be powered by OpenAI’s advanced models.

The collaboration will actively expand OpenAI’s integration within Kakao’s digital ecosystem, including core services like KakaoTalk. Kakao also plans to deploy ChatGPT Enterprise to employees to enable smarter workflows and boost workplace productivity.

The details of the collaboration were announced at a press conference, where Kakao CEO Shina Chung and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared their vision for the collaboration and outlined its future direction.

In addition, leveraging OpenAI’s technology including ChatGPT Enterprise in the workplace and to enhance Kakao products and features, the two companies will pursue co-product development that leverages the strengths of both organisations.

This collaboration supports Kakao’s ‘AI Model Orchestration’ strategy, first introduced at the if(kakaoAI) developer conference in October last year.

This approach also integrates Kakao’s proprietary AI models with leading external APIs to deliver high-quality services. By selecting and integrating OpenAI’s technology, Kakao aims to deliver best-in-class AI experiences through its services.

Turning Point

Shina Chung said that they were thrilled to establish this strategic collaboration with OpenAI, a global leader in AI technology. Through this collaboration, Kakao will further advance its orchestration strategy and mark a turning point in Kakao’s efforts to bring the future closer, Chung said.

Sam Altman said that Kakao has a deep understanding of how technology can enrich everyday lives, and they have consistently delivered innovative experiences for their users.

“We are excited to bring advanced AI to Kakao’s millions of users and work together to integrate our technology into services that transform how Kakao’s users communicate and connect,” Altman added.

Altman said that many Korean companies will be important contributors to the $500 billion Stargate data centre project, a venture between OpenAI and Oracle to build AI capacity in the US. However, he did not divulge further details citing that he wanted to keep the partnership conversations confidential.

He also said that Korea’s energy, semiconductor and internet companies made the country an important market for OpenAI, noting that Korean demand that would draw on investment from the public and private sectors worth up to $1.4 billion.