After the merger with Daum closed, Kakao has been looking to compete against LINE and other messaging apps in a bid to win more users. The latest attempt by the company is the creation of an investment firm – called K Venture Group – with KRW 100 billion (US$90.8 million) in its bank to seek out promising startups.
First reported by Yonhap news, the investment group would be making investments both at home and overseas.
the investment group would be making investments both at home and overseas
KakaoTalk will be launching a taxi hailing service called Kakao Taxi in the first quarter of 2015, not long after LINE launched its own service. With the company’s biggest profits coming from games, it also needs to expand into other areas in ecommerce to remain competitive in the growing industry.
KakaoTalk is available for most major mobile platforms.