Naver’s robot lab building comes to life

Apr 17, 2026, 09:21 am

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Service robots inside Naver’s headquarters. / Choi In-gyu

A visit to Naver’s second headquarters reveals a building that functions as a full-scale laboratory, where artificial intelligence-powered robots move seamlessly across floors delivering services to employees.

The tech giant, which spent more than 2 trillion won on research and development last year, has been intensifying its focus on AI innovation, drawing growing attention from the industry.

During a visit on April 15 to the company’s headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, the building itself stood out as an experimental space filled with AI robots. About 100 robots, known as “Rookie,” operate within the building, handling tasks such as delivering beverages, food and parcels, as well as transporting documents between employees.

Users can simply send commands through an app, and upon the robot’s arrival, authenticate their identity via facial recognition to receive items, showcasing a seamless integration of autonomous service robots into everyday office life.

One of the most notable features of these robots is their ability to move freely throughout the entire building, which spans from one basement level to 28 floors above ground.

For instance, when instructed to travel from the second floor to the 28th floor, the robot independently passes through security gates, takes elevators and reaches its destination without human assistance. This capability distinguishes it from typical service robots that operate only within a single flat space, such as restaurants.

A Naver official said, “It is quite unique for robots to use elevators and navigate an entire building. They are strategically placed across locations for easy access and perform different roles depending on the time of day.”

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Naver Labs inside Naver’s headquarters. / Choi In-gyu

At the core of this technology is Naver Labs, the company’s R&D-focused subsidiary located within the headquarters.

The lab features a wide array of robotic systems, ranging from wheeled robots like Rookie to bipedal robots capable of walking on two legs, resembling a robotics exhibition hall.

Naver said the lab serves as a base for designing a future robotics ecosystem, while continuing research on “ARC brain,” a cloud-based integrated system that manages and coordinates multiple robots simultaneously.

“Improving efficiency by having robots perform tasks in place of humans is crucial,” a company official said. “That requires not just one robot, but a system that can control many at once — that’s what ARC brain does.”

Alongside its push for robotics-driven offline innovation, Naver is also accelerating the enhancement of AI in its core portal search business.

The company plans to launch a new “AI tab” soon, building on the success of its AI briefing feature introduced last year.

Naver reported record-breaking performance in 2025, with revenue of 12.03 trillion won and operating profit of 2.21 trillion won. According to market estimates, it is expected to surpass those figures again this year, reaching 13.4 trillion won in revenue and 2.45 trillion won in operating profit.

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