TECH

OpenAI Teams Up with Korea’s Kakao Following SoftBank Joint Venture in Japan

Following the significant advancements by the Chinese AI company DeepSeek in OpenAI’s stronghold in the United States, OpenAI is intensifying its efforts in Asia, forging major commercial agreements that will enable the training of its AI models on a broader range of Asian-language content and user behaviors—an essential step for expanding business in these markets in the future.

Today, OpenAI announced a strategic partnership with Kakao, the South Korean tech giant behind one of the region’s most widely-used messaging platforms, KakaoTalk.

This announcement comes just one day after SoftBank revealed its substantial investment in OpenAI, allocating $3 billion to integrate OpenAI technology across its various operations and subsidiaries, and establishing a joint venture named SB OpenAI Japan to create enterprise-focused solutions in the country.

The collaboration with Kakao was disclosed at an event in Seoul, co-hosted by Kakao CEO Shina Chung and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and will initially encompass three projects.

The collaborative efforts include the development of a new Korean-language assistant named Kanana, powered by OpenAI; the integration of OpenAI technology into KakaoTalk; and Kakao’s adoption of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Enterprise for its internal use among employees.

Simultaneously, the news regarding SoftBank suggests a growing and collaborative relationship between the two entities. Reports indicate that SoftBank is considering a significant investment in OpenAI, although this remains unconfirmed, and they are reportedly collaborating on the Stargate project aimed at constructing AI superservers and other critical infrastructure in the U.S.

On the surface, these partnerships constitute significant commercial agreements that will introduce OpenAI’s services to new demographics in their native languages.

“Korea represents an incredibly dynamic market,” said Altman at the press conference. “AI adoption in Korea is notably advanced, spanning industries from energy to semiconductors and internet services. The environment is incredibly supportive of AI application, making it a crucial and rapidly growing market for us.”

Beyond commercial benefits, both the Kakao and SoftBank agreements will provide OpenAI with additional advantages.

The U.S. company is persistently enhancing and training its Large Language Models. Collaborations with significant players in Korea and Japan grant OpenAI the chance to access millions of consumers in those regions, unlocking new linguistic avenues.

This is particularly crucial in light of DeepSeek’s emergence. Should the Chinese AI firm prove to be more than just a temporary sensation—avoiding potential pitfalls related to copyright and data privacy—it would signal to OpenAI that a competitor outside the U.S. has made significant strides in capturing the English-language generative AI market.

Consequently, OpenAI must continue broadening its international presence and enhancing its capabilities to operate effectively in multiple languages, in addition to English.

It is also worth noting that SoftBank previously envisioned a different trajectory for itself.

Recognizing the potential to innovate in the predominantly English-centric AI landscape, SoftBank announced the formation of SB Intuitions in 2023, aimed at creating large language models and generative AI solutions in Japanese.

It remains unclear what has transpired with that initiative—whether it was never realized, if it will be assimilated into the joint venture, or if a different plan is in motion. We have reached out to the company for clarification and will provide updates as more information becomes available.

In addition to the collaboration with Kakao, Altman is using this opportunity to engage with other prominent Korean technology leaders. He has met with top executives from Samsung Electronics and semiconductor manufacturer SK Hynix to explore the development of custom chips and AI-enhanced devices, according to local media reports. OpenAI is following in the footsteps of major tech players like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, all of which are investing in their own AI chip designs.

This latest strategic alliance follows the announcement of OpenAI’s joint venture with SoftBank, which is set to allocate $3 billion annually to integrate OpenAI’s solutions—including ChatGPT Enterprise, OpenAI’s API, and products like Operator—across its various businesses. The collaborative entity, SB OpenAI Japan, will provide OpenAI’s enterprise technology exclusively to large companies in Japan.

Recently, OpenAI launched Operator, a sophisticated agent designed for tasks such as vacation planning and making restaurant reservations online, as well as the o3-mini, which is the latest and most cost-effective reasoning model. Additionally, OpenAI introduced a new feature called Deep Research, capable of conducting extensive internet research for complex tasks.

SoftBank’s statement indicated that Arm, the U.K.-based chip designer acquired by SoftBank in 2016, will also utilize OpenAI’s tools to enhance productivity.

Rumor has it that SoftBank is in discussions to lead a funding round for OpenAI, potentially valuing the company at $300 billion—a figure as high as $40 billion for the funding itself.

Furthermore, last month, OpenAI announced its partnership with SoftBank and Oracle to establish multiple data centers for AI development in the U.S., initiating a joint venture known as the Stargate Project. The initiative will launch with a major data center in Texas, and the three companies plan to invest $100 billion initially, with the potential for contributions of up to $500 billion over the next four years.

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