Kakao reports record profits, integrates Coupang Eats into KakaoTalk with AI focus

Kakao has achieved its highest-ever quarterly revenue and operating profit in the second quarter of 2024, fueled by strong performance in its advertising and commerce sectors. This milestone follows the company's strategic consolidation of non-core businesses and a significant overhaul of its KakaoTalk platform.

The platform division, Kakao's core business, saw its revenue climb 17% year-over-year to 1.23 trillion won. Within this, advertising and subscription revenue generated through KakaoTalk increased by 14% to 399.9 billion won. E-commerce also saw robust growth, with a 10% rise in revenue to 243.2 billion won, boosted by a 39% surge in self-purchases within the "Gift" service.

Looking ahead, Kakao is set to enhance its platform competitiveness by expanding its AI assistant services. CEO Shin Dong-a announced a partnership with Coupang Eats, which will integrate the food delivery service directly into KakaoTalk. This move aims to create a seamless user experience, allowing customers to order and pay for food without leaving the app.

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The first area to be linked with Kakao's agentic artificial intelligence will be food delivery.

This integration is the first step in deploying Kakao's "agentic AI" – an AI that can perform actions on behalf of the user. Kakao's on-device AI model will analyze conversation context and leverage user preference data to provide personalized menu recommendations. Shin expressed confidence in implementing this service in the near future.

Furthermore, Kakao reported that its "ChatGPT for Kakao" service has reached 13 million cumulative subscribers by the second quarter. The company aims to grow its monthly active users for this AI service to 20 million by the end of the year, signaling a strong push into the AI-driven digital landscape.

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We plan to implement the actual service in the near future.