Kakao has announced a strategic partnership with Google to develop and implement hands-free access to KakaoTalk, particularly through smart glasses and other next-generation AI devices. During a recent earnings announcement, Kakao's CEO emphasized that the collaboration aims to enhance user experiences through on-device AI, allowing users to conduct everyday messaging and calls without needing to use their hands. This partnership comes as major AI companies, including OpenAI and Meta, are actively working on developing next-generation personal AI devices.

The collaboration will also focus on utilizing Google's custom Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) alongside regular graphics processing units (GPUs) to manage the financial burden associated with securing NVIDIA GPUs. Kakao's strategy includes discussions on operating a TPUs-based cloud service via Google Cloud, providing a more cost-effective infrastructure for AI model learning and service deployment. This move is intended to increase operational efficiency while reducing costs compared to traditional GPU solutions.

This partnership stands in contrast to the efforts of Naver, another major South Korean tech company, which is collaborating with NVIDIA to secure thousands of GPUs for its services. Naver has also ventured into the extended reality content market by supplying its streaming platform's content to Samsung’s AI-enabled XR headset. Kakao's collaboration with Google raises questions regarding its previous alliance with OpenAI but showcases its intent to experiment and enhance Kakao's services within new device formats, especially amidst a fiercely competitive landscape in the AI-driven personal device market.