Naver, which joined hands with NVIDIA, becomes the center of Asia's AI cloud. / Naver vs Kakao, who will be the winner of the AI war? | CEO Lee Gwon-hee

Summary

CEO Lee Kwon-hee analyzes Naver's transformation into an Asian AI cloud powerhouse following high-level meetings with NVIDIA and Brookfield. He contrasts Naver's direct NeoCloud strategy with Kakao's reliance on OpenAI and stablecoin partnerships, ultimately favoring Naver (70%) over Kakao (30%) while acknowledging both have fresh momentum. The discussion covers AI data center economics, regulatory catalysts like the Clarity Act, and the bottomed-out valuations of Korean internet stocks.

• Naver's presidential accompaniment and 30-executive visit to Brookfield suggest a near-final AI data center funding deal.
• Naver is uniquely positioned to become Asia's NeoCloud operator, not just an OEM builder like SK Telecom.
• Kakao gains momentum from OpenAI integration and a Circle stablecoin partnership for Kakao Pay.
• Both Naver and Kakao stocks are at depressed levels with improving fundamentals, offering asymmetric upside.
• The speaker recommends a 70:30 allocation split favoring Naver over Kakao if holding both.
• Clarity Act passage is a key catalyst for crypto/payment plays and could indirectly benefit both companies.
• NVIDIA's potential equity investment in Naver remains a speculative but plausible game-changer.