Naver, South Korea’s most popular search engine, is set to target abroad governments with its latest ChatGPT-like AI model. Unlike Microsoft and Google’s AI models that are developed with universality in mind, Naver intends to customize its AI applications to suit the various political contexts and cultural sensitivities of countries. This includes nations from the Arab world and those with mostly non-English speaking populations, such as Mexico and Spain.
Sung Nako, a Naver executive in charge of developing hyperscale AI, said, “This will be a massive business as sovereign AI technology is becoming increasingly important for data protection.” Hyperscale AI involves formatting computing power and data in the cloud in a massive scale to effectively train and operate AI.
With this new offering, Naver seeks to address potential concerns of data control posed by US-developed AI models. As countries around the world get increasingly attuned to such political complexities and privacy issues, Naver’s AI platforms could offer the required localised solution to satisfy the security of data management needs.
Naver is a South Korean web service company, having been founded in 1999. It is recognised as the most popular search engine in South Korea, and it has also made significant investments in artificial intelligence, part of their efforts in hyperscale AI. In addition to providing a search engine, Naver also produces various web services such as Line app, an online video streaming service, and a web browser.
Sung Nako is an executive employed in Naver’s hyperscale AI division, and is in charge of developing such applications. With a background in engineering, he also holds a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence. Previously, he was a professor at KAIST, where he lectured extensively on advanced topics in computer engineering. Sung currently works to develop AI technology tailored to nations with specific political and cultural complexities.
