Kakao Mobility Corp. teams up with NVIDIA Corporation, kick-starting Level 4 autonomous driving commercialization

[Financial News] Kakao Mobility Corp. is joining forces with global AI semiconductor company NVIDIA Corporation to accelerate the advancement of Level 4 autonomous driving technology. It will combine its own autonomous driving AI with NVIDIA Corporation's high-performance computing and safety technologies. The plan is to secure the technological foundation for commercializing fully driverless autonomous driving and lay the groundwork for entering global markets.
According to industry sources, Kakao Mobility Corp. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NVIDIA Corporation on the 9th for cooperation on autonomous driving technology at The Westin Seoul Parnas in Gangnam District, Seoul. Attendees at the signing ceremony included Kim Jin-gyu, vice president of Kakao Mobility Corp.'s Physical AI division, and Gaurav Agarwal, senior director of NVIDIA Corporation's automotive business.
Under the agreement, the two companies will pursue development of a Level 4 autonomous driving system by combining NVIDIA Corporation's computing infrastructure and technologies with Kakao Mobility Corp.'s proprietary autonomous driving AI model. Level 4 is an advanced stage of autonomous driving in which a vehicle drives itself without driver intervention within designated operating conditions and areas.
Kakao Mobility Corp. is advancing its end-to-end (E2E) autonomous driving technology, which uses a single AI model to process the recognition of the vehicle's surroundings and decisions about how to drive. To that end, it plans to introduce an autonomous driving computing unit equipped with two of NVIDIA Corporation's DRIVE AGX Thor high-performance AI computing platforms for vehicles.
It will also apply NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion, NVIDIA Corporation's sensor and computing design framework. The plan is to improve compatibility and stability among vehicles, sensors and computing devices, thereby raising the overall quality of the Level 4 autonomous driving system. NVIDIA Halos, NVIDIA Corporation's integrated safety system, will be used to develop and validate the autonomous driving software.
The partnership between the two companies will take shape around Kia Corporation's purpose-built vehicles (PBVs). Kakao Mobility Corp. previously signed a partnership with Kia Corporation last July to develop PBVs for autonomous driving services.
The first priority this time will be to integrate Kakao Mobility Corp.'s autonomous driving software and NVIDIA Corporation's AI computing and safety technologies into Kia Corporation's PBVs. The companies plan to develop and supply vehicles for use in Level 4 autonomous driving services.
Building on its experience demonstrating its own autonomous driving technology in downtown Gangnam, Kakao Mobility Corp. will advance the technology while preparing for commercialization. After validating its technological competitiveness in Korea, it also plans to explore the possibility of entering the global autonomous driving market over the medium to long term.
Kakao Mobility Corp. CEO Alex Ryu said, "Based on three pillars—proprietary autonomous driving technology, a mobility platform and a technology partnership ecosystem—Kakao Mobility Corp. has been working to internalize Level 4 technology and build partnerships with leading companies at home and abroad," adding, "Through this partnership with NVIDIA Corporation, we will accelerate the advancement of E2E autonomous driving and prepare for the era of Level 4 commercialization as a hub of a global technology ecosystem connecting software, components and finished vehicles."

[email protected] Jang Min-kwon Reporter