Kakao Webtoon
Scope
Date
~
-
Artificial intelligence
Korean big tech firms join Korea’s AI strategy council
The South Korean government has launched an artificial intelligence strategy council, jointly with domestic big tech firms such as Naver Corp. and K...
Apr 05, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Korean games
Sandy Floor gets seed round from Kakao Ventures
South Korea’s casual multiplayer game developer Sandy Floor Games announced on Wednesday that it got a seed round investment from Kakao Ventur...
Apr 03, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Korean games
Solo Leveling: Arise, Netmarble's webtoon-based game to spur turnaround
South Korean game developer Netmarble Corp. said on Tuesday it is set to launch “Solo Leveling: Arise” — a new title based on a po...
Mar 19, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Bio & Pharma
Vivid Health gets seed round from Kakao Ventures
Vivid Health, a South Korean startup that operates an obesity treatment management platform announced on Wednesday that it got a seed round investme...
Mar 06, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Korean startups
Kakao Ventures invests in AI optimization startup Omelet
Kakao Ventures Corp. has made an undisclosed amount of seed investment into Omelet, a South Korean early stage startup developing industrial operati...
Feb 29, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Artificial intelligence
Kakao Brain releases medical GenAI tech for free
Kakao Brain, an artificial intelligence (AI) R&D subsidiary of South Korea's Kakao Corp., announced on Tuesday that it has uploaded the Labeler ...
Feb 20, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
IPOs
Naver enlists Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley for US IPO of webtoon unit
South Korea’s leading online platform operator Naver Corp. plans to list shares of Los Angeles-based affiliate Webtoon Entertainment Inc. on t...
Feb 19, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Korean startups
Venture downturn keeps Korean unicorns from acquisitions
South Korean unicorns, or private companies worth $1 billion or more, are increasingly refraining from taking over smaller startups for business exp...
Feb 16, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Earnings
KB Financial posts record-high profit on loan growth
KB Financial Group and Kakao Bank, top players in South Korea’s offline and mobile banking sector, respectively, achieved their highest-ever p...
Feb 08, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Bio & Pharma
Kakao launches AI-based blood sugar management solution
South Korea’s Kakao Healthcare Corp. has introduced an artificial intelligence-based blood sugar management solution targeting the global digi...
Feb 01, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Corporate governance
Kakao to replace K-pop pioneer SM execs over poor governance
Kakao Corp. is set to replace executives of SM Entertainment Co., who ousted its founder Lee Soo-man when the South Korean mobile giant acquired the...
Jan 29, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Corporate governance
Kakao inspects SM Entertainment’s management
Kakao Corp. has embarked on a special inspection of SM Entertainment Co.'s financial reporting for the first time since the South Korean internet gi...
Jan 26, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Webtoons
Piccoma sees record transaction value in Japan on K-webtoons
Piccoma, a Japanese digital comics app, enjoyed its largest-ever transaction value last year in the home of manga, thanks to the growing popularity ...
Jan 22, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Artificial intelligence
Kakao’s multimodal LLM Honeybee: Korea’s answer to Gemini, GPT-4
Kakao Corp., South Korea’s top mobile platform operator, said on Friday it has developed a multimodal large language model (MLLM) with the lat...
Jan 19, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Mobile networks
S.Korea ranks fourth in global mobile app market
The size of the South Korean mobile app market has exceeded 10 trillion won ($761 million).Data.ai, an app market analysis platform, released the 20...
Jan 11, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Future mobility
Kakao Mobility posts sevenfold rise in overseas ride-hailing services
Kakao Mobility Corp., which runs South Korea’s most popular ride-hailing app, saw its services in overseas markets grow sevenfold in the first...
Dec 29, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Mergers & Acquisitions
Kakao Mobility's talks to acquire FreeNow in deadlock
Kakao Mobility Corp.’s ambition to go global has hit a roadbock after its parent group Kakao Corp. rejected its draft bid to buy Germany-based...
Dec 27, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Fintech
Korean Kakao Pay’s acquisition of US' Siebert collapses
South Korean Kakao Pay Corp.'s takeover deal of US-based Siebert Financial Corp. has failed amid the growing legal risks surrounding top executives ...
Dec 20, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Webtoons
Naver Webtoon to enhance global biz with new exec for US IPO
Naver Webtoon Ltd., the world’s top digital comics provider, aims to ramp up its global business with the appointment of a new executive ahead...
Dec 15, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Executive reshuffles
Kakao taps venture capital unit head as new CEO to lead reform
Kakao Corp., South Korea’s top mobile platform under fire for its extremely aggressive business expansion, tapped its venture capital unit hea...
Dec 13, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Corporate restructuring
Kakao to tighten grip over units, rethink horizontal culture
Kim Beom-soo, founder and chairman of South Korea’s largest mobile platform Kakao Corp., said on Monday it will abandon its autonomous managem...
Dec 11, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Artificial intelligence
Former Kakao CEO founds AI entertainment company
Namkoong Whon, the former CEO of South Korea’s Kakao Corp., announced on Friday that he founded artificial intelligence (AI)-based entertain...
Dec 08, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Webtoons
Korean digital comics boost Naver Webtoon’s biz in Japan
Naver Webtoon Ltd., the world’s top digital comics provider, enjoyed robust business in Japan with a record gross merchandise value (GMV) this...
Dec 01, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Automobiles
Kakao Mobility looks abroad to expand taxi services
South Korea’s Kakao Mobility Corp. is expanding overseas services in the face of criticism over its business practices, including the alleged ...
Nov 24, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Tech, Media & Telecom
Kakao Mobility seeks to buy European taxi platform FreeNow
Kakao Mobility Corp., a ride-hailing service unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp., is planning to acquire FreeNow, a European taxi platform o...
Nov 16, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Earnings
Kakao bets on AI bot for breakthrough
Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea’s dominant chat app KakaoTalk, will seek a breakthrough with an artificial intelligence-powered bot a...
Nov 09, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Corporate restructuring
Kakao in emergency mode under regulatory, antitrust probes
Kim Beom-soo, founder and chairman of South Korea’s largest mobile platform Kakao Corp., convened an emergency meeting with some 20 chief exec...
Nov 06, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Webtoons
Naver Webtoon seizes 150 illegal overseas sites
South Korea’s Naver Webtoon announced on Thursday it shut down 150 illegal overseas sites, which unauthorizedly posted more than 80 webtoons i...
Nov 02, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Tech, Media & Telecom
Kakao Enterprise, Salesforce establish joint sales partnership
South Korea's Kakao Enterprise Corp. announced on Friday that it has formed a joint sales partnership with Salesforce Korea to support digital innov...
Oct 20, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
-
Travel & Leisure
Foreign tourists can use Kakao Taxi in S.Korea
South Korea’s Kakao Mobility announced on Thursday that it has started integrating its taxi service app Kakao T with overseas apps. Foreign to...
Oct 05, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)