AI Agents Are Erasing Borders in Global Shopping. NAVER Is Buying In.

SEONGNAM, South Korea – June 24, 2026 – In a move that signals a significant bet on the future architecture of global trade, NAVER D2SF, the venture arm of South Korea’s tech titan NAVER, has announced a new investment in SAZO. The startup is pioneering what it calls “agentic commerce,” using artificial intelligence to dismantle the complexities that have long plagued international online shopping. At the heart of SAZO's platform are AI agents designed to autonomously navigate the labyrinth of cross-border transactions, making a purchase from Tokyo as simple as one from a local retailer.

The investment highlights a critical inflection point where the explosive growth of e-commerce is colliding with the practical frictions of a fragmented global market. For NAVER, whose ambitions increasingly lie beyond its domestic stronghold, backing a company that provides the essential plumbing for a borderless marketplace is a calculated strategic play. It’s an acknowledgment that the next frontier of commerce won't be won simply by listing more products, but by fundamentally re-engineering the buying process itself.

The Labyrinth of Global E-Commerce

The appetite for global products is undeniable. The cross-border e-commerce market surpassed $1.5 trillion in 2024, with recent data showing that nearly 60% of consumers worldwide have purchased items from overseas retailers. This demand is no longer confined to major brands; it’s increasingly driven by a desire for unique, long-tail products—from niche fashion and secondhand treasures to creator-backed merchandise—that are inaccessible through traditional distribution. Yet, for both buyers and sellers, the path to a global transaction is riddled with obstacles.

For consumers, the checkout button is often a leap of faith. The final price can be a mystery, with unpredictable shipping fees and customs duties materializing late in the process. Language barriers, currency conversions, and disparate payment systems add further layers of friction that kill conversion rates. For sellers, especially small to medium-sized businesses and individual creators, the operational burden of navigating international logistics, customs regulations, and returns is often prohibitive. This information asymmetry and process complexity have acted as a powerful brake on the true potential of global e-commerce.

An AI Agent for Every Shopper

SAZO proposes to solve this with agentic AI. Instead of a shopper manually piecing together information, SAZO’s AI agents act as autonomous proxies, handling the entire workflow. The company claims its system can predict final shipping costs, customs duties, and service fees with approximately 95% accuracy upfront, eliminating the sticker shock that derails many international purchases.

These agents automate a cascade of complex tasks: they translate product descriptions, calculate local pricing, process payments through integrated gateways, and even handle customs clearance documentation. The result is an experience designed to feel indistinguishable from domestic online shopping. This isn't just a consumer-facing convenience; it allows e-commerce platforms and independent sellers to instantly expand their sales regions without investing in separate systems or taking on the risk of overseas inventory.

The company was born from a familiar frustration. Founder and CEO Maro Gil, a former government scholarship student in Japan with a background in mathematics and programming, started the company in 2023 after personally struggling with the cumbersome process of importing audio equipment. This experience sparked the idea of using AI to solve the inherent “hassles” of cross-border trade, a vision he first developed independently before building out his team.

NAVER's Global Chessboard and Youthful Gambit

NAVER D2SF's investment is more than just a financial endorsement; it’s a strategic alignment. It fits squarely within NAVER’s “Global 3.0” strategy, an ambitious plan to expand its user base and revenue streams internationally, with e-commerce as a central pillar. This move follows major global plays like its acquisition of the social commerce platform Poshmark. By backing SAZO, NAVER is investing in a foundational technology that could underpin its own global commerce ambitions.

Sanghwan Yang, Head of NAVER D2SF, articulated the challenge SAZO addresses. “Cross-border commerce is not simply about exposing products to overseas customers,” he stated in the press release. “It requires connecting different languages, payment systems, logistics networks, and customs processes into a single purchasing experience.” He confirmed that SAZO is already in discussions with NAVER Shopping for potential collaborations, which could see the startup’s AI integrated directly into NAVER’s massive commerce ecosystem, offering a seamless international shopping experience to its users and new global sales channels for its merchants.

The investment also underscores NAVER D2SF's focus on backing young, globally-minded founders. With CEO Maro Gil still in his twenties, SAZO represents a new generation of entrepreneurs who are building for a global market from day one, leveraging AI to rapidly turn market problems into scalable products.

From Validation to Velocity

While the technology is forward-looking, SAZO’s business model has already demonstrated significant real-world traction. The company’s initial service connecting Korea and Japan saw its monthly transaction volume grow approximately sevenfold over the past six months. This rapid growth is supported by strategic partnerships with e-commerce giants in the region, including Mercari, Rakuten, and Bungaejangter.

This momentum was built on a crucial early vote of confidence. In 2025, SAZO secured a strategic investment from Japan Post Capital, the venture arm of one of Japan’s largest logistics operators. That backing provided not only capital but also deep infrastructure expertise. Building on this foundation, SAZO has already expanded its service footprint to include the United States, alongside Korea and Japan. With the new funding from NAVER D2SF, the company plans to accelerate its expansion into new markets and further entrench itself as a core infrastructure provider for the next wave of global commerce.