Kakao Partners With Four Science Institutes to Nurture Young Founders

Kakao (035720.KS) is teaming up with Korea's four leading science and technology institutes to discover young unicorn founders.

Kakao Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for "fostering future AI talent" with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), and the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), the company said Wednesday. The signing took place the previous day at Kakao's Pangyo Agit in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

The ceremony was attended by Kim Young-deok, head of Kakao's AI Dot Center; Lee Sung-hye, head of the KAIST Center for Gifted Education; Kim Jong-won, head of the GIST Dreaming Child AX Education and Training Center; Seok Chang-won, head of the DGIST Convergence Talent Education Institute; and Baek Chung-ki, head of the UNIST Supercomputing Center. Kim was newly appointed last month.

In March this year, Kakao established "Kakao Dot," an organization for fostering AI talent and companies together with the four science and technology institutes. For this purpose, Kakao newly appointed Kim Young-deok as center head last month. Kim is an expert in startup investment and support, having founded Gmarket and served as CEO of D.Camp, run by the Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs, and at Lotte Ventures (formerly Lotte Accelerator).

Kakao and the four science and technology institutes plan to identify and support promising young scientists at the elementary, middle, and high school levels at an early stage. The plan is to provide effective support by linking each institute's specialized educational capabilities with Kakao's infrastructure and field experience programs.

"It is meaningful to be able to provide an AI education environment for regional gifted students together with the four science and technology institutes that have nurtured Korea's science and technology talent," Kim Young-deok said. "We will work to discover and nurture teenage AI founders at an early stage."

Meanwhile, Kakao Group plans to pursue comprehensive revitalization of regional AI ecosystems centered on "Kakao AI Dot." The company plans to help promote AI startups not only among regional youth but also among regional university students and researchers, and to establish an AX-based startup model that addresses challenges in region-specific industries.