Kakao AI CEO Shin-Ah Jung Sets Sights on 20 Million AI Users and 6 Trillion Won in Revenue

"Employment Conditions Fully Succeeded... Kakao Headquarters Staff to Move to KakaoAI"

Shin-Ah Jung, CEO of Kakao, who will lead Kakao AI—the subsidiary responsible for artificial intelligence (AI) and platform business—has unveiled plans for business expansion. CEO Jung announced a goal to strengthen the competitiveness of KakaoTalk's agentic AI platform, and to set a target of 6 trillion won in related revenue by focusing on on-device AI models.

During the briefing on the physical spin-off of Kakao AI and Kakao X held on the afternoon of August 21, CEO Jung stated, "We plan to create greater synergy by adding Kakao's unique core assets and capabilities to our full-stack AI competencies." Upon the scheduled spin-off in January next year, Kakao AI will secure an investment fund of 2.3 trillion won to drive key businesses such as advertising and commerce based on KakaoTalk and agentic AI services. At the same time, the company set ambitious targets: achieving 6 trillion won in sales by 2030, capturing more than 5% market share in search advertising, and reaching 20 million daily active users (DAU) for AI services.

A core component of this vision is "on-device AI," which processes tasks directly on the user's device rather than through a server. Kakao has independently developed an on-device AI model, "Kanana Nano." CEO Jung explained, "About half of user requests will be handled instantly on the device by the lightweight Kanana Nano model, while more complex requests will utilize server AI models and specialized agents."

Regarding external cooperation strategies, CEO Jung said, "Rather than pursuing an unconditional race for ever-larger models, we will build a highly efficient architecture that reduces inference costs by up to 90% using on-device AI and intelligent routing technology." She also noted, "We will remain agile in pursuing external partnerships and mergers and acquisitions, focusing on small-scale deals that bring tangible technological synergy."

On how she plans to achieve the user number targets, CEO Jung stated, "Currently, the stickiness ratio—the proportion of daily active users to monthly active users—of Kanana within KakaoTalk is around 60% to 70%. If we apply this percentage to the total user base of 30 million, we anticipate surpassing 20 million daily active users."

"From Recommendations to Reservations and Payments—All in a Single Chat Window"

Regarding commerce strategy, CEO Jung emphasized, "We aim to create an environment where users can receive recommendations, make reservations, and complete payments—all within the same chat window, without ever leaving it." She further stated, "AI agents that understand the context of conversations will propose customized products and services, while a unified revenue model will be established so that users can seamlessly make instant payments within KakaoTalk."

Concerning employment succession following the spin-off, CEO Jung explained, "Employees currently belonging to Kakao headquarters will transfer to Kakao AI. All employees' working conditions will be comprehensively succeeded without change, and stock options will be divided accordingly."

On the morning of August 21, Kakao convened a board meeting and resolved to conduct a physical spin-off, resulting in the establishment of Kakao AI (the new entity) and Kakao X (the surviving entity). Kakao AI will be responsible for AI, advertising, and commerce centered around KakaoTalk, while Kakao X will focus on supporting and managing affiliates. Shin-Ah Jung will lead Kakao AI, while Do-Young Kim, CEO of Kakao Investment, will head Kakao X.

The spin-off ratio between the two entities is set based on net asset book value: Kakao AI at 0.36 and Kakao X at 0.64. Existing shareholders will receive shares in both companies, proportionate to these ratios. Kakao plans to complete the spin-off on January 1 next year, following an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on December 17. In addition, Kakao intends to relist Kakao AI and change the listing status of Kakao X on January 27 of the same year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.