A scale model of the underground layout for the Diriyah smart city development is displayed at Diriyah Company's headquarters in Saudi Arabia / Courtesy of Kakao Mobility
Kakao Mobility said Monday it has signed a paid proof-of-concept (PoC) agreement to supply its integrated mobility solution to Saudi Arabia’s massive smart city development in Diriyah, marking the first major application of the company's technology overseas.
The company signed a memorandum of understanding with Diriyah Company, the developer behind the 90 trillion won ($62.5 billion) project, in May last year to co-develop next-generation mobility services. The latest agreement is for a paid pilot project aimed at verifying its feasibility and effectiveness before full-scale implementation.
Under the new agreement, Kakao Mobility will deploy a full package of its technology and operating model, from digitizing local parking infrastructure to adapting the Kakao T user interface and backend systems.
The company will supply its system across three major zones of the Diriyah project with roughly 5,000 parking spaces. If the PoC is successful, they will explore expanding the solution across Diriyah’s broader mobility network with parking capacity for over 60,000 vehicles.
“This agreement is meaningful as it is a strategic bridgehead for Kakao Mobility to expand into future mobility technologies in the global market,” the company’s CEO Ryu Geung-seon said.
“A data-driven parking platform will serve as a critical foundation for autonomous driving, electric vehicle charging and delivery robots in next-generation smart cities. Through a successful PoC, we aim to demonstrate our physical AI capabilities to the global market.”
Kakao Mobility’s technology package will include its AI-powered space optimization tools that predict parking space availability, advanced indoor navigation capable of operating GPS-free underground and a unified app that integrates valet, parking and payment features. The technology will digitize existing parking infrastructure while providing real-time data services to both drivers and operators.
Source: Korea Times News
