Naver pares back services to focus on AI and commerce

Naver is narrowing its service portfolio to redirect resources toward AI, commerce and digital infrastructure. The company will shut down VIBE on Dec. 31, with new subscriptions and payments suspended from Nov. 27, after the music platform’s monthly active users fell to 460,000 in June from around 1.5 million in 2023.

The company is also ending Naver TV on Sept. 30 and moving creators’ videos, subscribers and view counts to Clip, while focusing its video strategy on Clip and live-streaming platform Chzzk. Earlier cuts included the April closures of Clova X and Cue:, with their technology folded into AI Briefing and AI Tab, as well as the shutdowns of Naver Post and Modoo last year.

Naver is aiming to monetize AI inside its core products rather than maintain separate services. CEO Choi Soo-yeon said AI Tab, launched in June, had surpassed 10 million monthly active users as of early August, and that click-through rates for shopping and local content exceeded 40 percent.

Infrastructure is becoming another focus. Naver secured a $1 billion strategic investment from Nvidia and named Brookfield its preferred capital partner to raise up to $9 billion for an AI factory, with plans for a 55-megawatt global facility in the first half of 2027 and expansion to 200 megawatts by 2028.