Naver said on the 25th that it plans to invest a total of 1 trillion won in an "impact fund" by 2030 to help small business owners use artificial intelligence (AI) and support creators' growth.
According to the "2025 integrated report" Naver released that day, Naver executed a total of 142 billion won with the impact fund last year. Naver plans to expand the cumulative impact fund investment to 1 trillion won by 2030.
Last year, the impact fund invested in the following: ▲ the "ADVoost Shopping × AI RIDE campaign," which helps small business owners and brands use AI business tools ▲ the Creator Launcher program, which supports creators' growth ▲ events such as Be Local Week in Gyeongju, which supports local brands. As much as 22.9 billion won was used solely for the tech impact area, which supports AI technology expanding beyond specific corporations to become a growth foundation for diverse ecosystem participants.
This year's report placed significant focus on the "on-service AI" strategy, which closely applies AI across all of Naver's services. Naver said it enhanced the usability of its core services by building a virtuous cycle between data and AI based on its own data, including UGC (user-generated content), shopping, and local.
Going forward, Naver plans to expand AI experiences from search to purchase, reservations, and payments through Agent N, the AI tab, and a shopping AI agent.
For ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance, Naver cited its greenhouse gas reduction status and its achievement in securing large-scale renewable energy for AI data centers. Other results included nine consecutive years of top rating in the Shared Growth Index evaluation, a "very good" rating in user protection work assessments for search and shopping, an AA rating for two consecutive years in the fair trade compliance program (CP), and winning the Korea Association for Protection of Personal Information (KAPP) "privacy protection excellence award for companies" this year.
Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon said, "Naver's sustainable growth is possible when it grows together with diverse ecosystem participants, including users, businesses, and creators," adding, "We will continue to support partners' growth based on our AI, data, and platform capabilities, and build a Naver ecosystem that grows together with diverse participants so that more people can benefit from technological opportunities."