Google pulls Kakao Healthcare into AI talks as PASTA eyes global market

Kakao Healthcare is looking to take its AI-powered diabetes management platform PASTA global, renewing its partnership with Google just a year after CEO Hwang Hee pledged deeper collaboration at Google Cloud Next 2024.

The two companies met Thursday at AI Innovation Day in Korea, an event hosted by Google, which invited Kakao Healthcare to discuss expansion strategies for PASTA and its medical data platform. While details remain scarce, a Kakao Healthcare spokesperson said the companies “reaffirmed plans to work closely” on both initiatives.

Launched in Korea in February 2024, PASTA uses AI-driven real-time glucose monitoring backed by CGM device data. Kakao Healthcare is now eyeing expansion into Japan, the U.S., and the Middle East, with Japan’s reimbursement policies for diabetes care and CGM devices expected to shape its entry strategy.

At the event, Google showcased its latest AI developments, including Gemini 2.0, AI agents Project Astra and Project Mariner, and AI research tool Deep Research.

Kakao Healthcare, meanwhile, presented real-world AI applications, focusing on its medical data platform now adopted by 17 hospital research alliances. The platform consolidates medical data using big data and AI-driven federated learning.

“Since we’re integrating Google’s model into our federated learning system, there’s a strong possibility of extending our collaboration to global hospitals,” the Kakao Healthcare spokesperson said.

The partnership builds on a broader AI push between the companies that began in 2023. Kakao has already integrated Google’s Gemini AI into PASTA to expand into metabolic disease management while also leveraging Google Cloud’s AlloyDB and Vertex AI for its data platform. Gemini 2.0 has also been embedded into Kakao’s hospital concierge chatbot.

Kakao Healthcare will further highlight its AI expansion plans next month at Google Cloud Next 2025 in Las Vegas, where it has been invited to present its AI agent applications in healthcare for the second consecutive year.