​Kakao AI Speaker Begins Official Sales

Kakao has begun official sales of its Kakao Mini AI speaker, the company said.

The speaker goes up for sale on Kakao's gift market, available on its chat app KakaoTalk.

The speaker costs 119,000 won ($107), but subscribers to Kakao's music streaming service Melon can get it for 49,000 won ($44).

Kakao said Kakao Mini will understand the context to answer queries and will sync with Melon's database to suggest music.

The compnay will add other services to the speaker at a later date, including translations, ordering food, and calling cabs -- all of which are all services Kakao provides on mobile.

The firm runs South Korea's largest cab chauffeur service, KakaoTaxi, which was last month re-branded Kakao T and now has parking features.

Kakao has been promoting the speaker and its AI business heavily this year. It has partnered with multiple firms for different projects to expand its AI platform, Kakao I.

Last month, it said Kakao I will be available on Samsung's home appliances.

It is also cooperating with Commax for a smart home solution that uses Kakao I's voice recognition engine. The solution is expected to work with smartphones and Kakao Mini.

The company is planning to deploy development tools for Kakao I that will allow third-parties and partners to make new services that use the platform.

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