Kakao Mobility has achieved a result by exporting mobility technology to Saudi Arabia.
Kakao Mobility said on the 23rd that it signed a paid proof-of-concept (PoC) contract to supply an "integrated mobility solution" to the Diriyah project, a mega Smart City development in Saudi Arabia. The deal comes seven months after the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with Diriyah Company in May last year for the joint development of future mobility services yielded concrete business results.
The Diriyah project is equipped with a large-scale complex infrastructure that connects the entire site of 14 square kilometers, and among zones 1 and 2, travel and parking in zone 1, which is adjacent to the cultural heritage district, take place mainly underground. Through the contract with Diriyah Company, Kakao Mobility plans to build a parking solution that will accommodate more than 60,000 vehicles. As the first step, it will first build a solution that can accommodate about 5,000 vehicles.
If the PoC is carried out successfully, the parties plan to discuss expanding the solution to mobility hubs across all of Diriyah.
To efficiently manage the movement of more than 60,000 vehicles, including in complex underground environments, Kakao Mobility will apply its "full-stack parking" technology to this PoC. This includes AI-based demand forecasting and space optimization technology; indoor navigation deployment that provides seamless guidance even in large underground parking lots where GPS reception is impossible; and an integrated platform capability that offers valet service, entry/exit, and payment in a single app.
Kakao Mobility said, "Based on our know-how in analyzing large-scale data and our capabilities in data-based demand forecasting and efficient management, we will turn the existing parking infrastructure in key areas of Diriyah into data and, on that basis, build a user app, indoor navigation, tenant-facing web solutions, and valet-only solutions."
Before signing this contract, officials from Diriyah Company visited Korea in September last year to review Kakao Mobility's platform operation know-how and mobility capabilities. At the time, the Diriyah side directly checked the indoor navigation environment implemented at the COEX parking lot in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and visited the site of the country's first "robot valet service," which is being operated in collaboration with HL Robotics in Cheongju, North Chungcheong.
Ryu Geung-seon, CEO of Kakao Mobility, said, "Beyond parking lot management, this contract is also significant as an important bridgehead for Kakao Mobility to move into the realm of future mobility technology in the global market."