Kakao Unifies AI Organization...CEO Jung Shina to Oversee It Directly

From a dual-track structure to a single “AI Studio” system
AI development speed race... one-month cycle for new service development and deployment

Kakao has reorganized its artificial intelligence (AI) development units into a unified "AI Studio" structure. CEO Jung Shina will oversee AI Studio directly, with the aim of increasing the flexibility of Kakao's AI organization and accelerating the launch of AI services such as "ChatGPT for Kakao" and "Kakana in KakaoTalk."

According to the IT industry on February 25, Kakao carried out an organizational restructuring on the 1st of this month and consolidated its in-house units in charge of AI development and services into AI Studio. Previously, the organizations responsible for AI model development and AI services were separated.

Jung Shina, CEO of Kakao, is attending and speaking at the Kakao Media Day held on the 4th at the Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyeong

Kakao reorganized into AI Studio to accelerate AI service development. To this end, it has set the development and deployment cycle for new AI features at one month. During Kakao's earnings conference call on the 12th, Jung said, "We intend to build a framework for rapid execution," adding that "ChatGPT for Kakao and Kakana in KakaoTalk, which were launched last year, are outcomes that were released at high speed under the studio structure."

After the integration, AI Studio placed six units under its umbrella. AI Studio is operated in the form of a task force (TF), allowing flexible reconfiguration of its subordinate units. A key characteristic of the design is that studios can be newly established or shut down as needed during operation. A Kakao representative stressed, "Each studio leader will have authority and responsibility comparable to that of a founder and will launch services in a highly intensive and speedy manner."

The leadership of the AI organization has also been reshuffled. Following the departure last month of former performance leader Lee Sangho, who oversaw quality and safety for Kakao AI, former performance leader Kim Byunghak, who had been in charge of Kakana model development, also recently left Kakao. Lee previously served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and head of the AI business unit at SK Telecom before taking on the role of Chief AI Officer (CAIO) at Kakao. Kim led the "Kakana Alpha" unit, which was responsible for model development from the early days of the Kakana organization. Kakao explained, however, that their departures were due to the expiration of their terms and are not directly related to the AI organizational restructuring.

Under the single AI Studio structure, Jung will personally oversee service development and deployment. The partnership with Google for Kakana's on-device AI services, the official launch of Kakana in KakaoTalk, and the integration of external services with ChatGPT for Kakao are also expected to be handled directly by Jung within the studio framework.

A Kakao representative explained, "With this restructuring, we plan to increase the density of execution and provide AI experiences that users can tangibly feel this year in the fastest and most reliable way."