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Kakao

Kakao

Digital Advertising & Super-App Platformkakaocorp.com

Kakao Corporation is one of South Korea's most influential digital ecosystem companies, operating across communication, mobility, entertainment, fintech, and commerce.

Last updated Oct 5, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team

Founded
2010
HQ
Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Connections
5

AI-drafted from public sources4 sources cited

At a glance

Employees
10001+
Funding
$1.5B
Revenue
$2B–$5B
Stock
035720.KS
4integrations1competitors
Mobile Ad PlatformLocation-Based AdvertisingProgrammatic Platform

About

Dominant super-app and digital advertising platform in South Korea, with near-universal consumer reach via KakaoTalk

Kakao Corporation is one of South Korea's most influential digital ecosystem companies, operating across communication, mobility, entertainment, fintech, and commerce. Kakao Business, the division responsible for advertising and brand communications, integrates the company's assets into a unified offering for marketers, connecting KakaoTalk, KakaoTalk Channel, Kakao Moment advertising, Kakao Bizboard inventory, and data-driven targeting technologies. Kakao Moment, the primary campaign management tool, supports objectives such as traffic, conversions, awareness, and video engagement, with CPC and CPM pricing models, pixel-based retargeting, custom and lookalike audiences, and targeting by age, gender, location, device type, and interest category. Beyond digital advertising, Kakao Mobility has entered the out-of-home advertising space, leveraging its mobility platform and user data to pursue data-driven OOH placements across Korea. Source 1: scroogefrog.com — KakaoTalk Ads: Structure, Services, Effectiveness, and ... Source 2: oohnews.co.kr — Kakao Mobility's Quiet Disruption: Driving Digital ...

Business model

Platform / Marketplace

Target market

Enterprise

What they offer

  • KakaoTalk

    South Korea's dominant messaging app with over 50 million monthly active users, serving as the core platform for Kakao's advertising and commerce ecosystem.

  • Kakao Moment

    Kakao's self-serve and managed digital advertising platform enabling display, video, search, and message-based ad campaigns across KakaoTalk and Daum.

  • Daum

    South Korea's major search and news portal, acquired by Kakao, offering search advertising and display inventory.

  • Kakao Pay

    Digital payments and fintech platform integrated across Kakao's ecosystem, enabling commerce and financial services.

  • Kakao Commerce

    E-commerce platform and gifting service (KakaoTalk Gift) integrated within KakaoTalk, enabling social commerce.

  • Kakao Entertainment

    Content and entertainment division covering music (Melon), webtoons, movies, and celebrity management.

  • Kakao Games

    Mobile and PC gaming platform and publisher operating within the Kakao ecosystem.

  • Kakao Mobility

    Ride-hailing and mobility services platform, one of South Korea's leading transportation apps.

  • KakaoTalk Channel (BizBoard)

    Business messaging and branded channel solution allowing brands to communicate directly with opted-in users via KakaoTalk.

Key features

First-party audience data from 50M+ KakaoTalk usersNative in-app advertising within KakaoTalk chat interfaceKakao Moment self-serve ad platform with campaign managementSearch advertising via Daum search engineSocial commerce and gifting ad formatsAudience targeting and retargeting using Kakao ID dataKakaoTalk BizBoard banner ads in chat tabVideo and display advertising across Kakao networkKakao Pay-linked commerce and conversion trackingBusiness messaging (AlimTalk, FriendTalk) for CRM

Use cases

Brand awareness campaigns targeting South Korean consumersPerformance advertising with conversion tracking via Kakao ecosystemSocial commerce and gifting promotions via KakaoTalkCRM and customer retention via business messaging (AlimTalk)Search advertising targeting Daum usersRetargeting audiences across Kakao-affiliated appsMobile app install campaignsVideo advertising for entertainment and FMCG brands

Customer segments

Large Korean enterprises and conglomerates (chaebols)SMBs targeting Korean consumersGlobal brands entering the South Korean marketE-commerce and retail advertisersFinancial services companiesEntertainment and gaming companiesMobile app developers

Tech & specs

Technology stack

Proprietary ad serving and DSP infrastructureBig data analytics and ML-based audience segmentationKakao ID-based identity graphReal-time bidding (RTB) infrastructureCloud infrastructure (Kakao Cloud)AI/ML for recommendation and personalization

Security & compliance

PIPA (Personal Information Protection Act, South Korea)GDPR (for international operations)K-ISMS (Korean Information Security Management System)

Deployment

Cloud

API

Yes

Corporate history
  1. 2010 · Founded
Connection details

Explore further

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