OpenAI Partners with Kakao in Korea - AI News

OpenAI Expands Asian Presence with Key Partnerships

Following significant advancements by Chinese AI company DeepSeek, OpenAI is strategically growing its influence in Asia. This expansion involves substantial commercial agreements designed to enhance AI training with Asian-language data and user insights.

Collaboration with Kakao in South Korea

OpenAI has announced a strategic partnership with Kakao, a leading South Korean technology firm renowned for its popular messaging application, KakaoTalk. This collaboration was revealed at an event in Seoul, jointly hosted by Kakao CEO Shina Chung and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

SoftBank’s $3 Billion Investment

This development closely follows SoftBank’s commitment to integrate OpenAI technologies across its operations. A budget of $3 billion has been allocated for this purpose, alongside the establishment of SB OpenAI Japan, a joint venture focused on creating enterprise solutions tailored for the Japanese market.

Initial Projects with Kakao

The initial phase of the Kakao partnership encompasses three key projects. These include the development of Kanana, a new Korean-language assistant powered by OpenAI, integration of OpenAI technology into KakaoTalk, and the adoption of ChatGPT Enterprise by Kakao for internal employee use.

Deepening Ties with SoftBank

The SoftBank relationship appears to be evolving into a more comprehensive alliance. Reports suggest a potential major investment in OpenAI, alongside collaborative efforts on the Stargate project, aimed at constructing AI superservers and related infrastructure within the United States.

Strategic Benefits Beyond Commercial Deals

These partnerships extend beyond simple commercial agreements. They provide OpenAI with valuable access to linguistic data and user behavior within key Asian markets.

Altman emphasized the significance of the Korean market, noting its advanced AI adoption rate and favorable environment for AI applications across various industries.

Unlocking New Linguistic Capabilities

As OpenAI continues to refine its large language models, collaborations with major players in Korea and Japan offer opportunities to expand its linguistic capabilities. This is particularly crucial in light of competition from companies like DeepSeek.

Addressing the Competitive Landscape

DeepSeek’s emergence presents a challenge to OpenAI, demonstrating the potential for companies outside the U.S. to gain momentum in the generative AI space. Expanding internationally, and mastering diverse languages, is therefore a critical strategic imperative for OpenAI.

SoftBank’s Evolving AI Strategy

Interestingly, SoftBank previously pursued a different path, launching SB Intuitions in 2023 to develop LLMs and generative AI specifically for the Japanese language.

A spokesperson for SoftBank confirmed that SB Intuitions will continue to develop specialized LLMs for Japanese, and has installed approximately 4,000 Nvidia Hopper GPUs in its Japan AI computing platform.

Expanding Engagement with Korean Tech Leaders

Altman also engaged in discussions with executives from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, exploring collaborations on custom-designed chips and AI-powered devices. OpenAI is now joining other tech giants in developing in-house AI chip technology.

SB OpenAI Japan: A Dedicated Enterprise Solution

The joint venture between OpenAI and SoftBank, SB OpenAI Japan, will focus on delivering OpenAI’s enterprise technology, including ChatGPT Enterprise and its API, to large corporations in Japan. SoftBank will invest $3 billion annually in implementing these solutions.

New OpenAI Capabilities

OpenAI recently introduced Operator, an AI agent capable of performing tasks like travel planning and restaurant reservations, and the o3-mini, a cost-effective reasoning model. Additionally, the Deep Research capability enables in-depth internet research for complex tasks.

Leveraging Arm’s Expertise

Arm, the chip designer acquired by SoftBank in 2016, will also utilize OpenAI tools to enhance productivity.

Potential Investment and Data Center Development

SoftBank is reportedly considering leading a funding round for OpenAI, potentially valuing the company at $300 billion. Separately, OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle are collaborating on the Stargate Project, a joint venture to build AI data centers in the U.S., starting with a large facility in Texas, with a planned investment of up to $500 billion over four years.