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Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yu-won introduces HyperCLOVA X at DEVIEW 2023 held at Coex in Gangnam, Seoul, on Feb. 27. (courtesy of Naver)

South Korean internet giant Naver is joining the race to make more useful forms of artificial intelligence following the enthusiastic response to the ChatGPT natural language chatbot.

Naver will be launching HyperCLOVA X, which has experience with 6,500 times more Korean language data than ChatGPT, as part of its plan to build an AI ecosystem specializing in non-English languages. Naver will also be releasing a search engine equipped with a chatbot in the first half of the year.

“In July, we will be releasing HyperCLOVA X, an upgraded version of HyperCLOVA, our independently developed hyperscale AI program,” said Kim Yu-won, CEO of Naver Cloud, in a keynote address at DEVIEW 2023, a yearly developer conference at COEX, in Seoul’s Gangnam District, on Monday.

Naver said it would link HyperCLOVA X “to our clients’ data to tailor our hyperscale AI to our clients’ specifications,” which would enable it to “provide responses that are optimized for our clients.”

HyperCLOVA X’s competitive advantage is that it specializes in languages other than English. Seong Nak-ho, the technical lead for hyperscale AI at Naver Cloud, noted that HyperCLOVA X “has been trained on 6,500 times more Korean language data than ChatGPT, so it will be able to realize the image of AI that our customers desire.”

“A hyperscale AI with a superior understanding of specific languages and cultures will be able to overcome the issue of data reliability that is caused by linguistic barriers,” Seong said.

Naver will also release a search engine with AI chat capabilities in the first half of the year, just as Microsoft has done with Bing. SearchGPT, as the service will be known, seeks to give users optimal search results based on 20 years of search data at Naver.

A rendering of SearchGPT, an AI-powered search service that Naver plans to release before fall. (courtesy of Naver)

If a user searches for seasonal fruit, for example, SearchGPT would recommend kinds of fruit that have been selling well or websites where fruit is available for purchase based on Naver blogs and shopping information.

Naver intends to bolster cooperation with Samsung Electronics to develop chips that can serve as the “brains” of its hyperscale AI.

“We’re working with Samsung Electronics to build an AI semiconductor solution that will have at least four times the power efficiency of current graphics processing units at a tenth of the size while still possessing all the necessary functions for computing, learning and deducing from large language models,” said Kwak Yong-jae, chief technology officer of Naver Cloud.

Through such technological developments, Naver intends to hone its competitive edge in the Korean AI industry.

“Massive investment is needed for hyperscale AI that is suitable for the domestic industry and environment and that has a solid understanding of specific languages and cultures. Given our track record of investing in our own infrastructure and technology, we will lead the commercialization of hyperscale AI as we build an AI ecosystem that will be competitive both domestically and globally,” said Kim Yu-won.

By Ock Kee-won, staff reporter

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