Company DigestAILast updated: 21 August 2026

Kakao to Split Into Two Listed Companies, Kakao AI and Kakao X, in Restructuring Around Artificial Intelligence

Kakao Corp. (Kakao) will split into two separately listed companies, Kakao AI and Kakao X, in a restructuring of the group built around artificial intelligence. The newly established Kakao AI will take the KakaoTalk messaging platform together with the AI, advertising and commerce businesses, with subsidiaries DK Techin and K&Works placed under it, while Kakao X, the surviving entity, will keep the fintech, content and mobility businesses under an investment-focused structure. The split ratio is 0.36 to 0.64 based on net book values, existing shareholders will receive shares in both companies, and separate trading of the two stocks begins on January 27, 2027.

A demerger built around artificial intelligence

SEONGNAM, South Korea, August 21, 2026 — Kakao Corp. (Kakao) has announced a plan to divide itself into two listed companies, Kakao AI and Kakao X, restructuring the group around artificial intelligence. Corporate announcements and investor materials of the company are published on the company website at https://www.kakaocorp.com/.

Under the approved plan, Kakao AI is established as a new company and takes the KakaoTalk platform together with the AI, advertising and commerce businesses; DK Techin and K&Works are placed under it, and the unit is prepared for the era of agentic AI. Kakao X remains the surviving entity and keeps the fintech, content and mobility businesses under an investment-focused structure.

The principal terms of the split are as follows:

• Kakao AI — a newly established listed company: KakaoTalk, AI, advertising and commerce, with DK Techin and K&Works under it;
• Kakao X — the surviving listed entity: fintech, content and mobility under an investment-focused structure;
• split ratio — 0.36 for Kakao AI and 0.64 for Kakao X, based on net book values;
• shareholders — existing shareholders of Kakao receive shares in both companies;
• leadership — Chief Executive Chung Shin-a to lead Kakao AI; Kim Do-young, chief executive of Kakao Investment and head of group investment strategy, nominated to head Kakao X.

Why the group is dividing

The company explains that the businesses going into the two entities have different characteristics and different growth stages, and that the split is intended to give each of them autonomy in strategy, execution and capital allocation. The restructuring is presented as a way to prepare the group for the era of agentic AI, in which the speed of decision-making and clear accountability matter most.

Timeline: from board approval to separate trading

The board of Kakao has approved the split. The remaining steps follow a fixed schedule:

1. shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting on December 17, 2026;
2. the split becomes effective on January 1, 2027;
3. the shares of Kakao AI and Kakao X begin trading separately on January 27, 2027.

Between the announcement and the effective date the plan still requires the vote of shareholders; once the split takes effect on January 1, 2027 the two entities exist separately, and from January 27, 2027 their shares trade independently of each other.

Leadership and the voices behind the decision

Chief Executive Chung Shin-a will lead Kakao AI. Kim Do-young, the chief executive of Kakao Investment and the head of group investment strategy, has been nominated to head Kakao X.

"This split is a decision to transform Kakao into a structure built for the speed and accountability required in the AI era," Chung Shin-a said.

Kim Beom-su framed the change in broader terms: "The AI era demands agility on an entirely different level. We will redesign our growth structure around the two engines of Kakao AI and Kakao X…"

Company information

Company: Kakao Corp. (Kakao)

Contacts: Kakao Corporate Communications, Seongnam; media enquiries via https://www.kakaocorp.com/

Company website: https://www.kakaocorp.com/