South Korean online platform Naver launched a generative AI service on Thursday as a competitor to ChatGPT.
The company announced plans to develop its AI offering in May to compete for overseas audiences.
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The AI tool, HyperCLOVA X will be used in the search engine function of the platform to generate AI searches. It will also provide a chatbot function. The beta version will be available from Thursday.
Naver also announced plans to develop a new AI chip with Samsung Electronics to support its AI development.
Launched in 1999 as a search engine, the South Korean company was the first web portal to use comprehensive search, a feature that compiles results from various categories.
In 2017, the search engine processed 74.7% of all web searches in South Korea and had 42m registered users.
As South Korea’s leading web portal, Naver launched its own “metaverse” social media in 2018 with ZEPETO, which offers users a space to create digital avatars, meet and chat in different virtual worlds.
Unlike other metaverse platforms, Naver’s Zepeto attracted a massive, active user base. By 2022, the application has attracted 340m users since it launched in 2018.
Naver also came under fire in 2020 when it was fined $22.9m by South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for algorithm manipulation to favour its own services between 2012 and 2015.
