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](https://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.
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