AXZ rebrands as Daum, sets course for AI-powered portal revival

AXZ Co., the operator of the Daum portal, has changed its corporate name to Daum and announced plans to build a next-generation portal powered by AI technology.

The company said it will use the rebranding as an opportunity to gradually expand AI-based features while preserving the user experience of its existing services.

AXZ approved the name change to Daum Co. at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting held Monday, the company announced Monday.

The rename was pursued to align the company's identity with its flagship service brand and to strengthen communication with Daum portal users and partners.

Existing services, user accounts and the way members access Daum will remain unchanged after the rebranding. The company plans to roll out new AI-based features and services in stages while protecting the brand assets and familiar user experience it has built over the years.

Founded in 1995, Daum has grown alongside South Korea's internet industry by connecting people with information and with each other through services including search, news, email, cafes and blogs. It currently operates a range of digital services — the Daum app, search, news, email, cafes and the creator platform Tistory.

The new corporate name is meant to signal both a commitment to carrying forward that legacy and a determination to shape new ways of discovering and connecting information in the AI era. In native Korean, "daum" means "the time or turn that follows now," and the company said it aims to grow into a platform that links users' present with a better future — just as its name suggests.

With the name change, Daum plans to revamp its corporate website and official channels, and to build a next-generation portal by combining AI technology with the service capabilities it has accumulated in search, content and community.

The company said it will enhance AI-powered search that goes beyond keyword queries to comprehensively understand users' questions and context. In news and content, it plans to upgrade personalization and summarization features to make reliable information easier to find. It also intends to continue strengthening its community and creator ecosystem, including Cafe and Tistory.

"This name change is not simply a matter of renaming the company — it is about making our responsibility for Daum's services and future even clearer," said Lee Geon-su, chief executive of Daum. "We will carry forward the trust and values Daum has built over more than 30 years, and leap forward as a company that leads the new internet and AI era by combining AI technology."