Introducing the new Kanana-o

Kanana-o is Kakao’s new Korean-focused omni-modal AI model, designed to understand and generate text, images, and audio naturally. Kakao is opening a closed beta for the Kanana-1.5-o-9.8b-2602 model to gather feedback from developers and partners before commercial release. The service emphasizes practical experimentation rather than large-scale traffic handling.

Model Capabilities

• Supports simultaneous processing of multiple modalities, including text, images, and audio.
• Specializes in:
  • Deep understanding of Korean language, culture, and user intent.
  • Natural Korean speech with expressive intonation, pacing, and emotion.
  • Flexible applications such as podcast narration, multi-turn conversations, and multi-speaker text-to-speech.
• Balances text-generation speed with audio-processing speed to produce more natural spoken responses.

API Beta Service

• Service: Kanana-o API Beta
• Model: Kanana-1.5-o-9.8b-2602
• Beta period: February 27–May 27, 2026
• Access: Selected testers receive a fixed number of daily API uses during the beta.
• The closed beta is intended for meaningful developer testing and feedback, not high-volume production workloads.

Application and Selection

• Applicants should visit omni.kanana.ai, sign in with a Kakao account, and submit information about:
  • Their organization or affiliation
  • Intended purpose
  • Expected technical scenarios
• Selected applicants will receive invitations and API documentation through KakaoTalk notifications starting February 27.
• Kakao is seeking developers, students, startups, and researchers with concrete implementation plans.
• Specific proposals—such as building a visual shopping assistant for people with visual impairments—are favored over general interest in trying AI.

Developers interested in exploring Korean-language, audio, and vision applications can apply for the beta with a clearly defined use case and prototype plan.