Naver will implement capital expenditure (CAPEX) of over 1 trillion gained in AI chips alone beginning subsequent 12 months to broaden its synthetic intelligence (AI) agent and bodily AI companies. This comes as the corporate confirmed the potential for enterprise growth by means of AI, with third-quarter income surpassing 3 trillion gained for the primary time in historical past after integrating AI into current companies.
Naver introduced its plan to make AI a brand new enterprise space and make investments aggressively throughout its third-quarter earnings convention name on Nov. 5. Kim Hee-chul, Naver’s chief monetary officer (CFO), stated, “Contemplating the growth of latest companies reminiscent of bodily AI from subsequent 12 months onward, we count on investments of over 1 trillion gained in graphics processing models (GPUs) alone can be vital,” including, “Along with future preemptive investments, we additionally anticipate revenue-linked investments reminiscent of subscription-based GPU (GPUaaS) provided to public establishments or personal entities, so we’ll proceed an aggressive funding stance inside financially permissible limits, taking all these elements into complete consideration.”
Following this strategy, this 12 months’s capital funding is anticipated to exceed 1 trillion gained. Naver’s capital funding scale by means of the third quarter of this 12 months was 747 billion gained. This represents a 108.8% enhance from the funding quantity throughout the identical interval final 12 months (362.6 billion gained). A good portion of the funding is anticipated for use to achieve aggressive benefit within the international bodily AI market. Naver lately agreed to develop an industrial bodily AI platform with Nvidia. It’s anticipated to prioritize creating bodily AI specialised for key nationwide industries reminiscent of semiconductors, shipbuilding, and protection.
Together with this, Naver introduced that it’ll launch an AI agent subsequent 12 months that integrates with all of its companies together with search, purchasing, finance, and content material, in addition to exterior companies. Choi Soo-yeon, Naver’s CEO, emphasised, “Beginning with the launch of a purchasing AI agent subsequent spring, we plan to sequentially introduce an AI tab that gives complete generative search experiences and an built-in AI agent,” including, “We count on this to play a constructive position in monetization.”
Naver’s aggressive AI funding is pushed by the truth that making use of AI to current enterprise sectors is displaying ends in improved efficiency. Naver’s third-quarter consolidated income, introduced immediately, was tentatively calculated at 3.1381 trillion gained, up 15.6% from the identical interval final 12 months. That is the primary time Naver’s quarterly income has exceeded 3 trillion gained. Working revenue elevated 8.6% year-over-year to 570.6 billion gained. Each income and working revenue recorded the very best quarterly efficiency.
Naver evaluated that it enhanced competitiveness by integrating AI into its companies. Certainly, as of September this 12 months, the every day common variety of house feed customers exceeded 10 million because of strengthened AI personalised suggestions. Advert effectivity was additionally improved utilizing AI options reminiscent of ADVoost. All enterprise sectors confirmed balanced development: △Search Platform 1.0602 trillion gained △Commerce 985.5 billion gained △Fintech 433.1 billion gained △Content material 509.3 billion gained △Enterprise 150 billion gained.
CEO Choi stated, “Because of specializing in AI-based development of companies and enterprise operations below the course of on-service AI, we had been capable of affirm development that led to enterprise alternative growth and income era,” including, “We’ll broaden AI integration to broader fields to reinforce core competitiveness whereas working to find future development engines for international growth.”
In the meantime, throughout immediately’s earnings convention name, enterprise plans following the merger with Dunamu weren’t talked about. That is analyzed as either side being cautious with their phrases as discussions are ongoing.
