KRAFTON, Inc. has announced that Kangwook Lee, Head of KRAFTON AI has been appointed as Chief AI Officer (CAIO), a newly created executive position, tasked with overseeing the company’s AI research and development activities.
The CAIO role aims to advance AI R&D and strengthen mid-to-long-term innovation strategy, PTI reported, citing the company.
Who is Kangwook Lee?
Former Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Lee received his PhD in 2016 from the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department at UC Berkeley. He previously served as an Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Since 2022, Lee has been conducting research in AI fields such as deep learning and machine learning, while also serving as Head of KRAFTON AI.
He has concentrated on redesigning KRAFTON’s AI research framework to boost the company’s innovation efforts, spearheading R&D in essential AI fields such as machine learning (ML), language models (LM), natural language processing (NLP), reinforcement learning (RL), and multimodal models.
In 2025, Lee led a project at KRAFTON in partnership with NVIDIA to introduce CPCs (Co-Playable Characters), creating new gameplay possibilities by allowing real-time interaction between players and AI.
Lee has been leading key innovation initiatives at KRAFTON within the proprietary AI foundation model project since last year. Recently, he resigned from his tenured position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to fully commit to KRAFTON’s AI research and development, as well as its mid- to long-term innovation strategy. Focused on advancing game AI research, Lee aims to expand technological capabilities at KRAFTON.
Through Lee’s role, KRAFTON plans to further strengthen its game AI research and development framework and develop its mid-to-long-term business strategy.
About KRAFTON
Founded in 2007, KRAFTON operates a global network of 19 creative studios, including PUBG STUDIOS, Striking Distance Studios, Unknown Worlds, Neon Giant, KRAFTON Montréal Studio, Bluehole Studio, RisingWings, 5minlab, Dreamotion, ReLU Games, Flyway Games, Tango Gameworks, inZOI Studio, JOFSOFT, Eleventh Hour Games, OmniCraft Labs, Olivetree Games, Loonshot Games, and 9B STUDIO.
Each independent studio aims to attract more fans by expanding KRAFTON’s platforms and services.
The company is responsible for premier game IPs, including PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, PUBG MOBILE, PUBG: BLINDSPOT, inZOI, Subnautica, MIMESIS, Hi-Fi Rush, Dinkum, TERA, My Little Puppy, and more.
In India, KRAFTON is responsible for leading mobile games such as BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA (BGMI), which has crossed 250 million downloads, as well as Bullet Echo India, Road To Valor: Empires, and CookieRun India. Since 2021, KRAFTON has invested over $200 million in various Indian startups focused on interactive entertainment, gaming, Esports, and technology, aiming to strengthen India’s start-up scene, the company said.