Choi Soo-yeon, Naver CEO "Investing more than KRW 5 trillion in the AI·web3 ecosystem over 5 years"

Naver will invest more than KRW 10 trillion over the next 5 years to build the domestic artificial intelligence (AI) and web3 technology ecosystem.

At the joint press briefing of Naver, Naver Financial and Dunamu held at Naver's '1784' headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on the 27th, Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said, "Blockchain and generative AI have simultaneously reached a turning point," and "now is the right time to create a new growth momentum."

The briefing was held in conjunction with organizational restructuring decisions announced the previous day. Naver, Naver Financial and Dunamu each held board meetings the day before and approved a 'corporate fusion' agenda to incorporate Dunamu into Naver's affiliates through a comprehensive share exchange between Naver Financial and Dunamu. The strategy is to combine the two companies' technological capabilities into a single system to strengthen competitiveness in the global market.

Choi explained that Naver has secured AI competitiveness based on the data and technological capabilities it has accumulated across digital services such as shopping, simple payments, content and cloud. Choi emphasized, "Added to this is Dunamu's technological axis, which has global-level experience operating a digital asset exchange and on-chain service capabilities," calling it "a new combination rarely seen domestically."

Choi added, "Blockchain's user base is rapidly expanding and has entered a popularization stage, and generative AI is at an inflection point shaking entire industries," and "we judged that innovation must be pursued at the time these two trends converge."

She also mentioned the global competitive environment. Choi said, "There are already many players overseas with related technologies and infrastructures," and "domestic competitiveness is not yet sufficient." Accordingly, Naver and Dunamu set their investment strategy to strengthen the domestic technology ecosystem base.

The core is talent development and nurturing startups. Choi stated, "We will invest more than KRW 10 trillion over 5 years to cultivate AI and web3 technology talent and support promising companies," saying, "We will create a virtuous cycle in which technological innovation continues." Choi emphasized, "The two companies alone are not sufficient," and "domestic companies must together build a larger ecosystem."

A technology infrastructure integration strategy was also presented. The plan is to link Naver's AI technology, Dunamu's web3/blockchain capabilities, and Naver Finance's payment system to develop a new on-chain financial transaction model. Choi said, "Beyond merely adding the three companies' capabilities, we will build an independent blockchain network that combines AI and on-chain," and "we will create an industry structure that has not existed until now and build an ecosystem capable of competing in the global market."

Plans to strengthen security and infrastructure were also mentioned. Choi said, "Data security in the AI era and network reliability in the web3 era are essential," and "we will focus on building a safe and scalable infrastructure." Choi added, "This merger will serve as an opportunity to raise the global competitiveness of the entire domestic technology ecosystem," and "we will change the landscape of Korea's technology industry based on the two pillars of AI and web3."