Kakao Outlines Regional AI Talent and Startup Pipeline in Busan

What changed

Kakao held its AI Sail Summit 26 on Sept. 29 at Busan’s BPEX, bringing together about 800 AI professionals, founders and developers.

The company outlined a regional pipeline:

• train AI talent through programs such as Kakao AI Rookie Camp and Kakao Tech Campus;
• help founders build and commercialize products with GPUs, models and storage;
• connect startups with investors, industry partners and regional institutions;
• open a Busan AI hub by the end of the year.

Kakao’s mobility, banking, payments and insurance businesses also showed how they are applying AI. About 60 students joined the parallel Ralphton program, building products from initial ideas to final presentations.

Why it matters

Kakao is trying to turn regional AI education into a repeatable startup engine. The important shift is the link between learning and launch: students and aspiring founders would not stop at training, but move into infrastructure, minimum viable products, investment reviews and business partnerships.

That makes the AI Growth Platform more than a technical perk. GPUs, models and storage are often the unglamorous bottleneck between a promising idea and a working service. Kakao is proposing to remove that hurdle for students at KAIST, GIST, DGIST and UNIST, as well as other regional founders.

The company is also putting its own operating experience on display. Kakao Mobility discussed autonomous driving and future mobility services. KakaoBank described its approach to financial AI datasets and system stability. Kakao Pay presented AI-powered financial search and coaching, while Kakao Pay Insurance discussed redesigning underwriting with AI.

The plan is ambitious, but its real test comes after the conference. It remains uncertain whether the Busan hub will open by year-end, whether the participating projects will become funded companies, and whether the showcased AI systems will produce measurable business results. If those links hold, Busan could gain a durable pipeline from local problem-solving to local companies. If they do not, the summit will remain an impressive demonstration of programs that never quite connect.