en.Wedoany.com Reported - NAVER's corporate venture capital arm, NAVER D2SF, has made a new investment in cross-border e-commerce startup SAZO. SAZO is focused on building global shopping infrastructure based on agentic AI. Its platform leverages AI agents to automate key processes in overseas purchases, including shipping cost and customs duty prediction, translation, local pricing, payment, and customs clearance.
Global cross-border e-commerce demand is growing rapidly, with data showing that 59% of global consumers have shopped from overseas retailers. As content and creator IP drive product purchases, demand for overseas goods, fashion items, second-hand products, and other long-tail items that are difficult to obtain through traditional channels continues to rise. At the same time, e-commerce sellers, creators, and IP owners are seeking ways to sell their products globally.
SAZO addresses information asymmetry and complex purchasing processes in cross-border e-commerce through agentic AI. When shopping overseas, consumers often face uncertainty about final shipping costs and customs duties before payment. Differences in language, currency, and customs regulations across countries also create additional friction, limiting conversion rates. SAZO predicts shipping costs, customs duties, and service fees with approximately 95% accuracy. Its AI agents can automatically handle transaction processes such as translation, local pricing, payment, and customs clearance. With this infrastructure, consumers can purchase overseas products in a manner similar to domestic online shopping, while platforms and sellers can expand their sales regions without building separate systems or holding overseas inventory. By connecting local platforms with logistics and payment infrastructure across countries, SAZO lowers the barrier to cross-border e-commerce for both consumers and sellers.
SAZO currently operates cross-border e-commerce services connecting South Korea and Japan, with monthly transaction volume growing approximately sevenfold over the past six months. The company has established partnerships with leading e-commerce platforms in South Korea and abroad, including Mercari, Rakuten, and Bungaejangter. In 2025, Japan Post Capital, the venture capital arm of Japan Post Group, also made a strategic investment in SAZO. Japan Post Group operates one of Japan's largest cross-border logistics infrastructures. SAZO's current operations cover South Korea, the United States, and Japan, with plans to expand into more markets, aiming to grow into a global cross-border agentic commerce infrastructure company.
SAZO CEO Maro Gil, in his twenties, founded the company in 2023 after dropping out of school, having previously studied in Japan on a government scholarship. Since its founding, SAZO's co-founding team has built products and business structures for the global market based on a deep understanding of AI agents and cross-border e-commerce. The funds from this investment round will be used to expand partnerships with brands and platforms in global markets and to recruit talent, laying the foundation for the next phase of growth.
Sanghwan Yang, head of NAVER D2SF, stated that cross-border e-commerce requires integrating language, payment systems, logistics networks, and customs processes into a single purchasing experience. SAZO is discussing various forms of collaboration with NAVER Shopping, and the team is expected to provide users with a more convenient overseas shopping experience while creating global sales opportunities for sellers and creators.
NAVER D2SF has recently been actively supporting and investing in young founders challenging global markets. As AI lowers the barrier to product development, the division plans to expand collaboration with young founders who can quickly identify market problems and turn them into global products.
About NAVER D2SF: NAVER D2SF is NAVER's in-house corporate venture capital arm, supporting sustainable growth through partnerships with startups. Founded in 1999, NAVER has long maintained its position as South Korea's leading search engine, with operations spanning e-commerce, content, fintech, and cloud services. Under the D2 technology vision, NAVER is developing new technologies and building global partnerships to grow into a leading technology company.
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