Kakao Cloud
South Korean cloud arm of Kakao, building AI infrastructure while trailing AWS and local rivals.
On the record
Checkpoint: Shareholder ratification vote for new CEO Lee Jae-han, the second CEO change in about 16 months
The call
Kakao Cloud holds a government seat at the national AI GPU table but keeps losing ground to AWS and better funded domestic rivals in the business that actually pays the bills.
Kakao Cloud rents computer power and AI computing services to businesses in South Korea. The company has a special government contract to run one of three national AI computing centers, which keeps out big foreign companies like AWS. But Kakao still competes in the regular cloud market against stronger local rivals like Naver Cloud and KT Cloud, which are growing faster and making money while Kakao is still losing money. The key question is whether Kakao can actually grow its business as fast as its competitors and start making a profit, especially as more customers want AI computing power.
Why
01
AI pressure: AWS Bedrock and Amazon's AI stack pulling Korean enterprises straight to AWS for GPU and model access. Companies default to AWS for AI workloads, leaving Kakao Cloud to compete for the remainder without disclosed growth numbers. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: AWS, KT Cloud, Naver Cloud, Samsung SDS, NHN Cloud. AWS holds over half the Korean cloud market and Samsung SDS grew 18 to 42 percent YoY in 2025 while Kakao stays silent on its own numbers. Could a giant copy it? Probably.
03
What protects it. A 5 year government commission makes Kakao one of three operators of Korea's National AI Computing Center, keeping foreign hyperscalers out of that specific contract.
What would change this call
Kakao Cloud discloses a standalone 2025 or 2026 revenue/growth figure. Shows whether it can match peers' double-digit growth or remains silent by comparison.
National AI Computing Center GPU allocation updates over the next 6 months. Shows whether Kakao's share of the 50,000-GPU buildout grows or shrinks versus Naver Cloud and NHN Cloud.
Kakao Corp. rationalization decisions affecting Enterprise/Cloud funding amid ongoing labor disputes. Shows whether parent company continues backing Cloud or redirects capital elsewhere.
National AI Computing Center GPU allocation updates over the next 6 months. Shows whether Kakao's share of the 50,000-GPU buildout grows or shrinks versus Naver Cloud and NHN Cloud.
Kakao Corp. rationalization decisions affecting Enterprise/Cloud funding amid ongoing labor disputes. Shows whether parent company continues backing Cloud or redirects capital elsewhere.
Key numbers
- AWS holds over 50% of Korea's cloud market
- 2022 revenue 163.3B won, operating loss 140.6B won
- Samsung SDS cloud grew 18-42% YoY across 2025
Named risks
- Persistent operating losses with no updated financial disclosure since 2022.
- Leadership instability, CEO departed after 16 months, successor unratified as of July 2026.
- Labor unrest across Kakao group including Kakao Enterprise strikes in June-July 2026.
- Losing share to better-capitalized domestic rivals disclosing double-digit growth.
- Government GPU allocation moat is shared equally with two stronger competitors.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | losing to | Holds over 50% of Korean cloud market vs Kakao's undisclosed smaller share, 2024-2025 |
| KT Cloud | gaining on | Holds ~20% domestic market share while Kakao discloses no comparable figure, 2024-2025 |
| Samsung SDS | gaining on | Disclosed 18-42% YoY cloud growth across 2025 quarters vs Kakao's silence on numbers |
| Naver Cloud | contesting | Co-selected with Kakao as one of three national AI computing center operators, Dec 2025 |
| NHN Cloud | contesting | Shares same 5-year government GPU operator commission as Kakao, announced by Dec 2025 |
Questions people ask
- Is Kakao Cloud profitable in 2026?
- No confirmed profitability. Kakao Enterprise's operating loss widened to 140.6 billion won in 2022 from 36.8 billion won in 2020, even as revenue grew to 163.3 billion won. No standalone 2024 to 2026 revenue or profit figures have been disclosed as of November 2025.
- Who owns Kakao Cloud?
- Kakao Cloud is operated by Kakao Enterprise Corp., a private subsidiary of publicly traded Kakao Corp (KRX 035720). Kakao Enterprise began as an internal AI Lab and was spun off as an independent legal entity in December 2019.
- What is Kakao Cloud's market share in South Korea?
- Kakao Cloud is not a market leader. AWS holds over 50 percent of Korea's cloud market and KT Cloud holds roughly 20 percent, while third party reporting from November 2025 describes Kakao Enterprise as a latecomer expanding capacity behind AWS, Naver, KT, Samsung SDS and NHN.
- Could AI replace Kakao Cloud?
- Unlikely to be replaced outright. Kakao Enterprise is one of three operators, alongside Naver Cloud and NHN Cloud, selected under a 5-year government commission to run South Korea's National AI Computing Center, with 2,040 Nvidia GPUs operational as of December 29, 2025.
- Is it risky to join Kakao Enterprise right now?
- There is notable turmoil. CEO Lee Won-joo departed after about 16 months, with Lee Jae-han appointed as replacement on July 22, 2026 pending ratification, amid a Kakao-group labor dispute that included a full-day strike on June 29, 2026.
- Who is Kakao Cloud's biggest competitor?
- AWS dominates with over 50 percent of Korea's cloud market as of 2024 to 2025. Domestically, Kakao Cloud trails better-capitalized rivals Naver Cloud, KT Cloud with about 20 percent share, Samsung SDS, and NHN Cloud, none of which face Kakao's disclosure gaps.
Timeline
- 2026-07-22Lee Jae-han appointed new Kakao Enterprise CEO, pending August 2026 ratification
- 2026-07-21Kakao Enterprise reported to have virtually concluded labor-management agreement
- 2026-06-29Kakao group five-affiliate full-day strike including Kakao Enterprise union
- 2025-12-29Kakao's initial 2,040-GPU national AI center deployment goes operational
- 2025-11-19Kakao Enterprise extends Hybrid GPUaaS to Jeollanam-do regional AI project
- 2025-09-21South Korea secures 50,000-GPU national AI infrastructure target
- 2025-09-11Kakao Enterprise launches Hybrid GPUaaS offering
- 2023-05Kakao relaunches as Kakao Cloud with domestic-first multi-AZ service
- 2022Kakao Enterprise revenue hits 163.3B won, operating loss widens to 140.6B won
- 2019-12Kakao Enterprise spun off as independent legal entity from Kakao Corp
Revision history
22 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Kakao to restructure to focus on cloud, AI services
- Korean Cloud firms draw investors' interest despite weak IPO market
- Domestic CSPs Accelerate External Expansion Riding on AI Infrastructure Demand (2025-11-11)
- Kakao builds GPU infrastructure to boost AI R&D in Korea (2025-12-29)
- Lee Jae-han, head of the business division, has been appointed as the new CEO of Kakao Enterprise (2026-07-21)
- Kakao's internal feud...entered a long-term war (2026-07-21)
- Kakao Enterprises has appointed Lee Jae-han... (2026-07-22)
- Kakao Enterprise announced on the 11th...Hybrid GPUaaS (2025-09-11)
- Kakao Enterprise...2025 Regional-led AI Transformation Project (2025-11-19)
- Kakao Enterprise Stock Price, Funding, Valuation, Revenue & Financial Statements
- Kakao Enterprise accelerates KakaoCloud with AMD EPYC™ CPUs (2025-04-09)
- Naver Invests, Kakao Trims as Profits Diverge (2026-07-13)