Kakao to spin off KakaoTalk platform business into Kakao AI

Kakao said it will spin off its KakaoTalk-based platform business into a new company tentatively named Kakao AI. The company said business expansion and increased complexity had made it difficult to quickly execute strategies for each business under a single decision-making system.

The division is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1 next year. Kakao AI will be responsible for the KakaoTalk-based platform business, while the surviving entity will be tentatively named Kakao X.

Kakao AI will have a net book value of 2.91 trillion won and total assets of 5.93 trillion won. Its new business segment generated 2.65 trillion won in revenue in its most recent business year.

"This division is a decision to shift Kakao to a structure of speed and responsibility suited to the AI era," Jeong Sin-a, Kakao's chief executive, said.

"Competitiveness in the agentic AI era is not simply about building better models, but about understanding users' context and intent and connecting them to real actions," Jeong said. She added, "Kakao will use KakaoTalk's everyday user touchpoint and the technology and service ecosystem it has built to hasten an era in which everyone can naturally use their own AI agents."

Kakao X plans to operate as a future-value investment company responsible for growing its core techfin, content and mobility businesses, identifying new businesses and investing in innovative companies.

Under the demerger, Kakao X will have a division ratio of 0.64 and Kakao AI 0.36. The capital-reduction ratio is 36.5%, with no new shares allocated. Dec. 31 is the record date for the share allocation, and the new shares are scheduled to list Jan. 27 next year.