Kakao

Lore & Background

Kakao Corp is the company behind KakaoTalk, which serves as its main platform and flagship application. It was founded in 2006 by Kim Bum-soo as Kakao Inc. In August 2013, three of the globally ranked top 10 Android games were tied into the KakaoTalk platform—Everybody's Marble, Cookie Run, and Anipang. Kakao Corp generated revenue of approximately $200M (USD) in 2013 through gaming, digital content, mobile commerce, and its marketing channels. In 2014, Kakao Corp. merged with Daum Communications. In 2015, the company changed its name to Kakao. In 2016, Kakao acquired a 76.4% stake in LOEN Entertainment. In 2017, Kakao was approved to become South Korea's first internet-only bank. In 2021, Kakao Page and Kakao M merged into Kakao Entertainment. In 2023, Kakao acquired a 9.05% stake in SM Entertainment.

Did You Know?

• KakaoTalk messaging app dominated in South Korea, gaining around 90% of domestic market share in 2015.
• Kakao was the world's third top publisher by monthly revenue at Google Play according to a December 2013 App Annie report.
• Kakao Bank attracted 820,000 customers within four days of launch on 27 July 2017.
• Kakao surpassed Hyundai Motor to become the 10th largest company by market capitalization on the KOSPI in May 2020.