Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yu-won (Naver) Naver Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Korea's IT giant Naver, is creating a dedicated task force for defense artificial intelligence, as the company moves to expand its presence in the sovereign AI market.According to industry sources on Monday, Naver Cloud will launch a defense AI transformation task force the same day. The move marks Naver’s first separate organization dedicated solely to defense AI.The task force will be led directly by Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yu-won. It will seek AI and cloud business opportunities in defense and study how the company’s AI models and cloud infrastructure can be adapted for military environments.A key part of the push will be field deployment engineers, who will work directly with defense clients to design and build customized AI systems. The role, focused on deploying and operating AI systems at client sites, mirrors a model often associated with US defense AI company Palantir Technologies.Naver Cloud plans to bring together AI model development, business development and marketing functions to build defense-specific AI models and accelerate commercialization. The company, however, did not disclose the size of the new organization.The defense sector is emerging as one of the next major growth markets for AI. As military operations become more data-driven, demand is growing for AI systems that can support reconnaissance, command and control, and intelligence analysis.Defense is also regarded as a key market for sovereign AI, as governments seek to reduce their reliance on foreign AI systems and keep sensitive data under domestic control. That gives an edge to companies with their own AI models and secure cloud infrastructure.Naver Cloud presents its omnimodal AI technology as a core strength for defense-focused AI services. The technology can process different types of data, including text, images, audio and video.“Defense is a field where text, images and video from different sources have to be analyzed quickly to support fast decision-making,” a Naver Cloud official said. “Naver Cloud has its own AI data center and applications, giving it the capability to provide such services in a full-stack manner.”The company is also looking at AI platforms that could bring together reconnaissance footage, satellite information, operational communications and sensor data to support military decision-making.The task force comes as the Korean government is stepping up investment in defense AI. The Defense Ministry has been pushing a series of projects to build the foundation for military AI transformation, including military-focused AI data centers, graphics processing unit infrastructure and generative AI services.Industry watchers are looking to see whether Naver can develop a defense AI business model comparable to Palantir’s. The US company built its growth by supplying data analytics platforms to governments, militaries and intelligence agencies.“The defense AI market requires not only technological capability but also data security and long-term trust,” said an industry source who requested anonymity.“The question is whether Naver can use its sovereign AI capabilities to expand its presence in the public and defense sectors.”