Naver and Kakao Accelerate AI Research... Surpassing Last Year's Number of Papers

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Naver and Kakao are accelerating their research in artificial intelligence (AI). As multiple papers have been accepted at world-renowned conferences, recognizing their AI capabilities, AI-powered services are also emerging.

Naver and Kakao Invest Generously in Research and Development

According to the IT industry on the 28th, the total number of AI-related papers by Naver until September this year reached 88, significantly surpassing last year's total of 66 papers. The 88 papers published so far are 'global top-tier conference regular papers,' which are internationally recognized as significant in academia. Including non-regular papers, the total number of papers published has exceeded 100. Last year, Naver published a total of 100 AI-related papers.

Kakao is accelerating AI research through its two subsidiaries, Kakao Brain and Kakao Enterprise. Kakao Brain published a total of 14 papers until September, approaching last year's 15 papers. The total number of AI-related papers published by Kakao Brain and Kakao Enterprise this year is 31, and considering papers currently pending registration, it is expected that around 40 papers will be published this year.

Naver and Kakao's AI-related achievements come as they significantly increased their research and development expenses this year, investing generously in AI research. As of the first half of this year, Naver's research and development expenses amounted to approximately 837 billion KRW, an increase of about 50 billion KRW compared to the same period last year. Kakao's research and development expenses in the first half of this year were about 511 billion KRW, increasing investment by 160 billion KRW compared to the first half of last year. A substantial portion of the increased R&D expenses this year is being used for AI-related research.

Naver Excels in Voice AI, Kakao in Facial Recognition AI

While both companies are conducting research across all AI domains, there are particular fields where they stand out. Naver has demonstrated world-class technology in voice AI research, while Kakao is recognized in the computer vision domain, including facial recognition.

At the recently held International Conference on Speech Signal Processing 'Interspeech 2022,' Naver presented eight research papers, with five selected for oral presentation. Interspeech is one of the world's most prestigious conferences, marking its 23rd edition this year.

Notably, research achievements with high service applicability stood out, such as methods for easily applying emotions to speech synthesis, improving speaker recognition performance, and optimizing memory usage during speech recognition model training. Currently, Naver utilizes voice AI technology in various AI services including Clova Smart Speaker, Clova Dubbing, Clova Note, and Clova Care Call.

Kakao Enterprise demonstrated its computer vision capabilities by ranking within the top five in four categories, including first place in the kiosk category, at the 'Face Recognition Vendor Test (FRVT)' hosted by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in June. FRVT is globally recognized as an authoritative competition in facial recognition, a branch of AI computer vision technology.

Kakao Brain also reaped the fruits of its research by launching 'Remi,' an English learning application equipped with its proprietary AI language analysis technology. Remi uses a technology called ‘AI Chunking,’ which analyzes the components of English sentences and breaks them into meaningful or breathing units, enabling users to learn accurate pronunciation and intonation.

Naver and Kakao plan to continue expanding their investments in AI technology development. According to market research firm IDC, the global AI market, including large-scale AI, is expected to reach $554.3 billion (approximately 725.6 trillion KRW) by 2024.