NAVER Forms Business Partnership with Japan’s Creator Content Platform, “note”
NAVER Forms Business Partnership with Japan’s Creator Content Platform, “note”
NAVER Forms Business Partnership with Japan’s Creator Content Platform, “note”
- NAVER invests JPY 2 billion in Japan’s leading content platform “note,” acquiring approximately 7.9% stake and becoming its second-largest shareholder
- In the age of AI, where diverse data is more valuable than ever, NAVER plans to build a sustainable global creator ecosystem together with note
November 5, 2025
NAVER is strengthening its competitive edge by expanding its investments in the global content market, as content and data become increasingly important in the AI era.
NAVER Corporation (CEO Choi Soo-yeon) announced on November 5 that it has formed a strategic partnership with Japanese content platform “note” (CEO Sadaaki Kato), including a JPY 2 billion investment (approximately KRW 18.7 billion, based on the exchange rate of JPY 1 = KRW 9.37 as of the 4th) and a business agreement.
note is Japan’s leading original content platform, where anyone can express their ideas and experiences through various forms of content, such as text, images, audio, and video, and share them with other users. Since its launch in 2014, the platform has accumulated 64 million pieces of content across categories, including personal writing, comics, publications, contributions, and professional content, with a registered user base of 10.52 million. note plays a key role in driving Japan’s creator ecosystem, offering diverse revenue models, such as paid content sales and IP commercialization support.
NAVER will become the second-largest shareholder of note by acquiring approximately 7.9% of its shares through a JPY 2 billion investment. By combining note’s rich content ecosystem with NAVER’s expertise in user-generated content and webtoons, along with its advanced technology, the two companies plan to collaborate extensively to enhance their platforms and AI technologies. They aim to integrate AI into note’s vast content archive to advance creative tools, content discovery, and distribution while also developing new services—such as AI search and vertical agents—to deliver innovative user experiences.
Furthermore, the two companies will explore joint strategic investment opportunities to enhance their platforms’ global competitiveness and actively support the global creator ecosystem through initiatives such as cross-border content distribution and derivative works based on promising IPs.
NAVER CEO Choi Soo-yeon stated, “note is a platform where a wide range of content reflecting the unique personalities of around 10 million users across diverse Japanese genres comes together. In the age of AI, where content value is more critical than ever, note is a partner with strong growth potential alongside NAVER.” She added, “Leveraging the synergy between our platforms and content capabilities, we will pursue advanced technologies and new services to strengthen our global competitiveness.”
note CEO Sadaaki Kato remarked, “It is a great honor to collaborate with NAVER, a leading company in Korea. One of the most important roles of a platform is to help creators’ works reach a wide audience, and through this partnership with NAVER, we now have the framework to deliver those works from Asia to the world.” He continued, “Together, we will design more effective creative tools and distribution structures to build a new creative ecosystem.” (End)
[Reference] Introduction to note
- Launched in April 2014, note is a content platform where anyone can create and even sell various types of content, including text, images, audio, video, and comics. Following the launch of the note platform, the company has diversified its business model with offerings such as “note pro” for enterprise use and “TALES,” a platform for story submissions.
- The platform has shown steady annual growth of 20% to 30% across users, content volume, and revenue. In 2024, it recorded approximately JPY 3.3 billion in revenue, marking a 19% year-on-year (YoY) increase.
- Since surpassing 10 million registered users in June, note’s user base has continued to grow, reaching 10.52 million as of August 2025. The number of published content items has also risen approximately 33.1% YoY, totaling around 64.07 million. According to Similarweb, note ranked 1st in user traffic among all blog services in Japan and placed 14th among all websites in the country as of 2024.
- In January, the platform secured strategic investment from Google, drawing attention not only in Japan but also on the global stage.
