Kakao to adopt OpenAI technology, jointly develop solutions

Kakao, the South Korean mobile communication company and provider of KakaoTalk, Korea’s most popular messaging service, has announced a first-of-its-kind strategic collaboration with OpenAI in Korea.

The collaboration will focus on developing and enhancing Kakao’s services by leveraging OpenAI’s AI technology, tailored to the unique needs of Korean users, and making advanced AI more accessible. By selecting and integrating OpenAI’s technology, Kakao aims to deliver best-in-class AI experiences through its services. Key areas of focus include:

• Last October, Kakao declared its AI-native vision and group-wide trajectory blueprint, marking its shift toward becoming an AI-native company, and also announced the rollout of Kanana, a new and enhanced communication service. This user-friendly AI agent—which will deliver 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 plans to deploy ChatGPT Enterprise to employees to enable smarter workflows and boost workplace productivity.

Source: Kakao. Kakao CEO Shina Chung (left) and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (right) shared their vision for the collaboration and outlined its future direction at a press conference.

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.

The collaboration supports Kakao’s AI Model Orchestration strategy, first introduced at the if(kakaoAI) developer conference last October. The approach integrates Kakao’s proprietary AI models with leading external APIs to deliver high-quality services.

Shina Chung, CEO of Kakao said: “Through this collaboration, Kakao will further advance its orchestration strategy and mark a turning point in Kakao’s efforts to bring the future closer.” 

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI commented: “Kakao has a deep understanding of how technology can enrich everyday lives, and they’ve consistently delivered innovative experiences for their users.“We’re 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.”

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