As Naver and Kakao prepare to launch AI agent services this year, attention is focused on their contrasting strategies regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure investment. Naver is aggressively expanding its facilities while introducing large-scale AI search services such as the “AI Tab.” Kakao is pursuing a strategy of focusing on efficient internal investment by utilizing external infrastructure.
According to industry sources on the 11th, Naver spent 250.8 billion KRW on infrastructure investment in the first quarter. This is a 32.5% increase compared to the same period last year (189.3 billion KRW) and a 22.2% increase compared to the previous quarter (205.2 billion KRW). Naver explained that most of the investment was used to acquire new computing assets, such as Graphics Processing Units (GPUs).
This is interpreted as Naver strengthening its infrastructure investment to start AI agent services this year. AI agent services must apply reasoning models that go through complex thinking processes. Additionally, because Large Language Models (LLMs) must be called continuously, GPU resources are necessary.
Naver launched its Shopping AI agent in February and the AI Tab service last month. Both services explore data from Naver Cafes, blogs, and search results through a reasoning process. The goal is to implement agent services that can eventually lead to payments, which requires a significant number of GPUs.
Naver plans to invest more than 1 trillion KRW in GPU purchases this year. However, it also plans to strategically allocate GPUs and promote infrastructure optimization.
Kim Hee-cheol, Naver's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), stated during the first-quarter earnings announcement on the 30th of last month, “We are continuing efforts for infrastructure efficiency in service areas such as search through the introduction of company-wide efficiency platforms, and we have already confirmed the effects, such as reducing actual GPU usage by about 30% compared to expectations.”
Kakao is also steadily expanding its infrastructure investment but is investing with a cost-effective approach. Kakao spent 92.9 billion KRW on outsourcing and infrastructure costs in the first quarter. This figure is calculated based on Kakao as a separate entity to exclude content investment costs; while it is a 9.6% increase from the same period last year (84.7 billion KRW), it is a 9.5% decrease compared to the previous quarter (102.6 billion KRW).
A Kakao official explained, “In last year's earnings announcement, we explained that capital expenditure (CAPEX) would be kept 'light' by appropriately using external infrastructure. In Kakao's case, we are executing costs in a capital-efficient manner by optimizing and deploying various chip lineups for each model and service.”
Kakao plans to expand infrastructure investment in the second half of this year as well, but will execute investment costs while considering the operating profit margin. Kakao CEO Shina Chung stated in February, “We will aim to achieve 10% revenue growth and a 10% operating profit margin this year.” For this reason, it is expected that Kakao will continue to invest within a range that maintains profitability while implementing AI agents within KakaoTalk that lead to conversation, recommendations, and payments within the year.
