• South Korean tech giant Naver Corp has launched CLOVA X, a Korean language chatbot similar to ChatGPT.
• It is powered by HyperCLOVA X, the firm’s flagship AI model built using supercomputing and data analysis capabilities.
• Naver has invested heavily in AI and plans to target non-English speaking countries such as Japan and Southeast Asia.

Naver Corp Introduces CLOVA X

South Korean internet giant Naver Corp has released CLOVA X, a Korean language chatbot similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT that can have conversations and summarize text, on Aug. 24. The chatbot is powered by the firm’s flagship AI model HyperCLOVA X which was built using supercomputing and data analysis capabilities.

Investment in AI

Naver has invested heavily in AI, spending $754 million over five years and opening a large new data center with 600,000 servers to hyperscale its AI efforts. In addition, the firm is looking to develop localized AI applications for countries with political sensitivities in the Middle East as well as targeting non-English speaking countries such as Japan and Southeast Asia.

CUE: Generative Search Service

The new Korean language chatbot is accompanied by CUE — a generative search service which is also powered by HyperCLOVA X. CUE will be launched in September this year.

Beta Testing & Launch Plans

According to Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon, beta testing of CLOVA X will begin on Aug. 24 while CUE: search tool will be launched in September 2020.

Revenue & Hype Train

The AI hype train is gathering momentum with companies such as Nvidia cashing in — Nvidia reported $13.5 billion revenue for Q 2 alone — while other companies are transitioning from general-purpose computing towards accelerators for high performance computing tasks such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).