Kakao plans to unveil its first Kakao AI product, developed in collaboration with OpenAI, at its upcoming developer conference. The company expects to officially launch the service by year-end. This major move aims to strengthen Kakao’s leadership in Korea’s business-to-consumer AI sector.
CEO Chung Shin-a shared the vision during the second-quarter earnings call. She emphasized that Kakao AI will integrate the company’s dominant mobile platform with the world’s most widely used artificial intelligence. The strategy focuses on gaining rapid traction in the Korean market through innovation and user accessibility.
Additionally, Kakao will introduce Korea’s first on-device AI using a lightweight model. This new tool will integrate deeply within KakaoTalk, acting as a smart, context-aware assistant. It will not sit in one spot but work throughout the app, suggesting helpful actions as users interact. Eventually, users will complete many daily tasks entirely within the platform.
The announcement came as Kakao posted impressive financial results. Operating profit jumped 39 percent to 185.9 billion won. Revenue reached 2.02 trillion won, exceeding analyst expectations. Growth came from balanced performance across advertising, commerce, mobility, and payment services.
The platform segment earned 1.06 trillion won, rising 10 percent from the previous year. Business message revenue rose 16 percent, supporting strong growth. E-commerce services, including gifting and TokDeal, brought in 221.2 billion won—an increase of 10 percent. Notably, “Gift to Myself” transactions performed especially well.
Total transaction volume for commerce reached 2.5 trillion won. Mobility and payment services together grew 21 percent to 434.8 billion won. Kakao Pay recorded strong gains in both platform-based and financial services, delivering double-digit revenue growth. This shows the company’s broad ecosystem is gaining momentum.
However, not all areas expanded. Portal service revenue fell 11 percent to 78.3 billion won. Content business revenue dropped 7 percent to 973.1 billion won, mainly due to gaming declines. Still, music and story content rose slightly by 1 percent each, showing resilience in creative sectors.
Moving forward, Kakao AI will become a core part of the company’s tech strategy. By integrating AI into its flagship products, Kakao seeks to lead Korea’s next digital transformation. The partnership with OpenAI marks a turning point in the company’s growth journey.
