Kakao Achieves 500x Return on Dunamu Investment... "Funds to Be Invested in AI Business"

Selling 6.55% Stake in Dunamu for Over 1 Trillion Won

"Securing AI Investment Funds... Preparing for Future Growth Engines"

Kakao Investment, a subsidiary of Kakao, is selling part of its stake in Dunamu, the operator of the virtual asset exchange Upbit, for over 1 trillion won. Through this sale, Kakao will realize an investment return of approximately 500 times its initial investment.

On May 15, Kakao announced that Kakao Investment will dispose of 2,284,000 shares (6.55%) of Dunamu that it currently holds, for 1,003,250,000,000 won. The purpose of the sale is to secure funds for future investments, with the scheduled date of disposal set for June 15. The stake will be acquired by Hana Financial Group through Hana Bank. Once the transaction is completed, Kakao Investment's remaining stake in Dunamu will decrease to 1,406,050 shares, representing a 4.03% ownership.

Kakao Pangyo Agit in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

Through this sale, Kakao will achieve an investment return of approximately 500 times. Kakao made its first investment in Dunamu in 2013, about a year after Dunamu was founded. Kakao Ventures invested 200 million won in 2013, and Kakao invested 3.3 billion won in 2015. If the current disposal amount and the value of the remaining shares are simply calculated at the same price, the value is about 500 times the 2015 investment amount.

Kakao plans to invest the funds secured from the sale into future growth businesses, such as artificial intelligence (AI). A Kakao spokesperson explained, "At present, Kakao's top priority is accelerating growth in the AI business, making it essential and important to secure investment resources. We believe that securing capital for not only AI but also for a variety of future growth engines will contribute more to the group's overall mid- to long-term corporate value."

This case is being cited as a representative example of Kakao's early-stage investment success, drawing renewed attention to Kakao's venture investment philosophy. Jin Shina, current CEO of Kakao and former head of Kakao Ventures, has consistently emphasized early-stage startup investment and growth. Kakao has been recognized for building a virtuous investment cycle by connecting investments to collaborations, such as with the KakaoTalk-based mobile securities service 'Securities Plus for Kakao' and Upbit's KakaoTalk account integration.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.