- 1. Korea AI giants Naver and Kakao miss AI targets, hurting cloud plans.
- 2. Fear & Greed Index hits 23, signaling extreme investor fear.
- 3. Bitcoin falls 0.9% to $74,073 USD amid tech caution.
KED Global reports on April 15, 2026, that Korea AI giants Naver and Kakao falter in their AI ambitions. These companies miss key goals. The delays hurt their cloud businesses. The Fear & Greed Index—a crypto market gauge from 0 (extreme fear) to 100 (extreme greed)—hits 23.
Naver and Kakao lead Korea's internet sector. Investors expect them to excel in AI. AI needs huge computing power from cloud data centers. Korean firms lag global rivals.
Naver's HyperCLOVA Model Lags Leaders
Naver launched HyperCLOVA, its main AI model like ChatGPT. Naver Cloud Platform runs the training. But efficiency gaps show up.
Naver lacks enough AI engineers. Korea fights Silicon Valley for talent. The company hires fast but stays short.
AI training costs soar on cloud platforms. Naver teams with GPU makers. Delays slow rollout.
Benchmarks prove it. OpenAI and Google move quicker. Naver updates its model step by step.
Kakao Hits Roadblocks in AI Rollout
Kakao adds AI to chat apps and services. Kakao i Cloud runs these features. Goals outrun results.
Kakao aims at business AI tools. Custom models need special cloud setups. Tech issues block launches.
Korea data laws require local storage. Kakao follows rules but struggles to scale cloud capacity.
Business clients worry about reliability. They adopt slowly. Kakao builds hybrid cloud options.
Setbacks Ripple to Cloud Market
Naver Cloud offers local data control, called sovereign cloud. AI misses shake user trust.
Kakao i Cloud serves mobile apps. Weak AI ties slow its growth. Global giants grab more share.
Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud lead in Asia. They take over AI cloud jobs. Korean firms hold 20-30% local market share.
Crypto Prices Show Investor Fear
The Fear & Greed Index registers 23, showing extreme fear.
Bitcoin trades at $74,073 USD, down 0.9%. Traders flee tech risks.
Ethereum drops 2.8% to $2,325.41 USD. Cloud-related tokens fall too.
BNB dips 0.5% to $614.69 USD. XRP falls 1.5% to $1.35 USD. USDT stays at $1.00 USD.
Korea Pushes to Fix AI Shortfalls
Korea wants to lead in AI. The government funds chip factories. Naver and Kakao drive private work.
Cloud firms supply GPUs for AI training. Supply chains bottleneck progress.
Naver tests edge computing. It runs AI on devices, not just clouds, to cut delays.
Kakao develops multimodal AI for voice and images. It optimizes to save cloud costs.
Businesses want cheap AI clouds. Korean firms tweak services to compete.
Global Rivals Press Harder
AWS builds Seoul data centers. Google grows in Tokyo.
Naver cuts prices for AI cloud plans. Startups try them, but growth stays slow.
Kakao simplifies dashboards for small firms. It bundles AI tools.
Big players win most deals. AI wins will decide if Korean clouds lead locally.
Paths Forward for Naver and Kakao
Naver partners with Samsung on custom chips. Cloud links come next.
Kakao hires global talent. It grows AI labs in Pangyo Techno Valley.
Both share open-source AI. Clouds host these free models.
They cut training costs. Clients see better returns.
Government subsidies build data centers. Korea grows its AI base.
Outlook: Proof Needed Amid Caution
AI hype fades to reality. Cloud sales depend on real wins.
Naver grows beyond search. Cloud and AI drive revenue.
Kakao uses 50 million daily users for data. Cloud turns it into insights.
Early AI pioneers faced stumbles too. They pushed through.
Korea AI giants falter now, but quick fixes loom. Investor fear at 23 waits for proof. Cloud breakthroughs could shift the balance.
