Kakao Unveils AI Native Maturity Levels... Aims to Enter Innovation Stage by 2025

Kakao CTO Jung-gon Kim announced the AI Native strategy, which places AI at the center of corporate culture and services, during the keynote speech at if(kakaoAI)2024. This initiative aims to integrate AI into Kakao's DNA, building on past successful transitions to Mobile Native and Cloud Native.

Kakao defined AI Native Maturity Levels for a systematic transition. This model consists of four stages: Exploration, where knowledge is accumulated; Application, where AI is applied to work processes; Innovation, where services featuring AI front-and-center are launched; and Everyday, where AI is fully integrated into daily life.

Kakao is currently in a transitional period from 'Application' to 'Innovation' and has established three milestones to achieve this.

• Changing the Way We Work: Enhancing productivity through AI Buddy, which integrates internal communication tools Agit, Jira, and Wiki, and Code Buddy, which assists with code reviews. Additionally, Kakao has built Matrix AI in-house to detect anomalies and suggest response measures.
• Building an AI Platform: Developing the Kakao AI Platform (KAP) to streamline the AI service development process, from data preparation to model training.
• Applying AI Point Services: Implementing AI in actual services, such as Pasta, a blood sugar management service by Kakao Healthcare; Helix Shorts, a webtoon short-form video production tool by Kakao Entertainment; and Bring, an autonomous driving and delivery robot by Kakao Mobility.

Starting in 2025, Kakao plans to officially launch services that prominently feature AI, entering the 'Innovation' stage. Ultimately, the goal is to reach the 'Everyday' stage, where AI agents become colleagues to Crew members and users naturally utilize AI Native services like Kanana.