Naver, Korea's Leading Internet Giant, Launches Innovative Generative AI Services

South Korean internet search leader Naver has unveiled its new generative artificial intelligence tool, HyperCLOVA X, on Thursday. This advanced large language model (LLM) includes a ChatGPT-like AI chatbot called CLOVA X and a generative AI-powered search engine named Cue, which serves as a competitor to Microsoft Bing.

Naver Cloud, the company’s cloud computing branch that launched HyperCLOVA X, announced that CLOVA X began its beta services in both English and Korean on August 24. The Cue search engine will enter beta testing in September and is slated for integration into Naver's existing search platform by November.

HyperCLOVA X is designed for creators and enterprise users. It represents an upgrade from Naver's earlier LLM, HyperCLOVA, which focused on the Korean language and was released in 2021. While HyperCLOVA boasted over 204 billion parameters, Naver has not disclosed the number of parameters for HyperCLOVA X. To access HyperCLOVA X, users must create a Naver account.

Naver employs more than 500 AI specialists and is one of only five companies globally to develop a large language model with over 100 billion parameters, as highlighted by CEO SooYeon Choi in a recent shareholder letter.

Additionally, Naver Cloud is working on multimodal language models for CLOVA X, designed to analyze and generate text, images, videos, and audio. Nako Sung, head of Technology and Hyperscale AI at Naver Cloud, indicated that the multimodal capabilities for CLOVA X are expected to be available soon.

Naver's generative AI launch reflects a broader trend among global tech companies racing to innovate in the generative AI space. Competitors like Microsoft-backed OpenAI have spurred this competitive landscape, while Google introduced its AI chatbot Bard and invested in Anthropic. Similarly, Baidu has rolled out Ernie Bot, and companies like Meta and Amazon are reportedly developing their own AI-driven chatbots.

Looking ahead, Naver aims to cater to markets currently overlooked by its rivals by providing customized AI solutions for politically sensitive regions in the Middle East, as well as non-English speaking countries such as Spain and Mexico, alongside existing markets like South Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

Naver is also set to open its second data center, GAK Sejong, equipped with 600,000 servers in South Korea to bolster its generative AI offerings in November, according to Choi’s announcement at the conference. Furthermore, Naver has been collaborating with Samsung since last December to develop AI chips tailored for hyperscale applications.

Kakao is also enhancing its presence in the generative AI landscape with the launch of Karlo 2.0, an innovative AI image generator.