[Edaily Reporter Lee So-Hyun ] Kakao Group has partnered with South Korea’s four major science and technology institutes to discover young artificial intelligence (AI) entrepreneurs outside the Seoul metropolitan area.

According to Kakao on the 26th, “Kakao AI Mott”—an organization under Kakao(035720)dedicated to fostering regional AI talent and businesses—signed a “Memorandum of Understanding for Cultivating Future AI Talent” with KAIST, GIST, DG-ITX, and UNIST the previous day at Kakao’s Pangyo Ajit in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

This agreement was established to identify and support science-oriented talent at the elementary, middle, and high school levels through a youth entrepreneur discovery project.

Kakao signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the four major science and technology institutes last March to foster regional talent. This agreement serves as a follow-up initiative and marks the first step in practical efforts to nurture young AI entrepreneurs.

The signing ceremony was attended by Kim Young-deok, Head of Kakao’s AI Mott Center; Lee Seong-hye, Director of the KAIST Center for Gifted Education; Kim Jong-won, Director of the GIST Dreaming Child AX Education and Training Center; Seok Chang-won, Dean of the DG-ITX Convergence Talent Education Institute; and Baek Chung-ki, Director of the UNIST Supercomputing Center. Appointed in May, Kim Young-deok is an expert in startup investment and support, having co-founded Gmarket, served as CEO of D.Camp (the Banking Industry Youth Startup Foundation), and worked at Lotte Ventures.

Kakao plans to support local youth AI talent by linking the specialized educational capabilities of each science and technology institute with Kakao’s infrastructure and hands-on experience programs. The vision is to create a virtuous cycle that allows local gifted students to access AI educational opportunities and grow into entrepreneurs.

Kim Young-deok, Director of Kakao’s AI Mott Center, said, “It is meaningful to be able to provide an AI educational environment for talented local youth in collaboration with the four major science and technology institutes that have nurtured South Korea’s science and technology talent,” adding, “We will strive to identify and nurture teenage AI entrepreneurs at an early stage.”

Kakao plans to expand its initiatives to revitalize regional AI ecosystems, centered around Kakao AI Mot. In collaboration with the four major science and technology universities, the company intends to support AI startups not only among local teenagers but also among local college students and researchers, and to develop AI-driven startup models that address the challenges of region-specific industries.