Krafton names new chief AI officer

Krafton, a South Korean game developer, announced the creation of a chief AI officer position and appointed Lee Kang-wook to lead its AI strategy.

Lee, who has a doctorate from UC Berkeley and has been a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, joined Krafton in 2022 and previously led AI research initiatives, including a project with Nvidia.

As CAIO, he will oversee AI research, development, and the company’s long-term AI roadmap.

Krafton intends to focus on integrating AI into its gaming infrastructure and exploring new business opportunities.

Lee’s role aims to support Krafton’s efforts to expand its AI capabilities and develop new growth avenues.

🔗 Source: The Korea Herald

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Krafton’s new AI chief is building specific products and will also be involved in a robotics push

Lee’s appointment follows his work leading Krafton’s “Co-Playable Character” program with Nvidia, which targets AI companions such as “PUBG Ally” for PUBG: Battlegrounds plus similar inZOI systems that respond to players in real time 1.
The plan also moves into physical AI through Ludo Robotics, a newly formed entity with a U.S.-based parent company plus a Korean subsidiary that Lee leads 2.
Lee recently resigned from a tenured academic role at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to focus full time on Krafton’s AI work 3.
Krafton has built a GPU (graphics processing unit) cluster valued at about KRW 100 billion (about $70 million) and partnered with SK Telecom to develop a proprietary foundation model (a large AI model that can be adapted for multiple applications) 4.

Krafton is using AI to move beyond gaming and into robotics and investment

In robotics, Krafton aims to apply its experience running large virtual worlds plus player interaction data to robotics simulation and software for robotic intelligence 2.
On the investment side, Krafton has put more than $300 million into 30 deals, with about 70% of them completed in 2023 and 2024 5.
Krafton also joined Mirae Asset and Naver to launch an India-focused fund called Unicorn Growth Fund, which backs growth-stage tech startups including AI and fintech (financial technology) 6.
Lee’s role fits Krafton’s broader effort to make AI central to the company, including work outside its core game business.