CEO Jeongsin: "We Will Launch Kakao's Unique AI Service Within This Year"

First Official Media Event After Inauguration
Announcement of AI-Specialized Data Center Construction

Jung Shin-ah, CEO of Kakao, is giving a greeting at the 'Kakao Data Center Ansan' press meetup held on the 11th. [Photo by Kakao]

Kakao CEO Jeong Shin-ah announced plans to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) service within this year.

At a press meetup held on the 11th at the 'Kakao Data Center Ansan,' CEO Jeong stated, "What Kakao can do best in the AI field is to provide users with truly easy services based on relationships." This event marked CEO Jeong's first official media appearance since taking office.

CEO Jeong said, "In the AI era, the first mover does not necessarily win," adding, "I have been thinking a lot about what Kakao's unique differentiator could be." He continued, "While aiming for long-term AI growth, it is also an important task to stay true to Kakao's core essence. When AI is combined with Kakao's fundamental businesses, I believe we can create services that users can utilize better and without fatigue."

Kakao has absorbed the workforce of its AI subsidiary Kakao Brain and established a dedicated organization. This organization is divided into 'Kanana X,' which develops AI, and 'Kanana Alpha,' which focuses on AI model development.

At the event, CEO Jeong also expressed his commitment to building an AI-specialized data center. The Ansan Data Center can house a total of 120,000 servers and store up to 6 exabytes (EB) of data. It began operations in January of this year and will participate in services that generate large-scale traffic, such as KakaoTalk.

CEO Jeong said, "We plan to build an AI data center that can effectively respond to AI technology-based services and future technological environments," adding, "We are currently selecting the site for its establishment."

He also indicated his intention to accelerate the reform efforts that have been underway. He stated, "Much progress has been made in governance, decision-making systems, and appointing leaders suited to our organizational culture," adding, "If the setup was done in the first half of the year, we will work to further solidify the reforms in the second half."