The mobility industry is moving to upgrade businesses by putting artificial intelligence (AI) front and center. The way AI is applied differs by company depending on their strengths. While Kakao Mobility and T Map Mobility are using data secured on platforms and apps to advance existing services and expand into new businesses, Humax Mobility and SOCAR are building AI competitiveness with data generated from offline assets such as parking lots and vehicles. Analysts say the mobility AI race is shifting beyond simple technology adoption to a contest over how each company commercializes its data assets.
As of the 29th, major mobility corporations are moving in earnest to build AI business models using their unique data assets, according to industry sources. Notably, Kakao Mobility is pursuing a shift from a traditional mobility platform company to a "physical (real-world) AI" company.
The core asset is the call, dispatch, and transportation management data and service operations experience accumulated by running Kakao T. In taxi-hailing services, it is important to quickly connect passengers and taxis by predicting real-time supply and demand. Kakao Mobility aims to extend this capability to technologies that control movers in the physical world, such as Autonomous Driving vehicles, robots, parking lots, and logistics equipment.
Robotics is the area where results have become visible first. Kakao Mobility is leading with "orchestration" technology that controls robots from multiple manufacturers within a single system. After signing a business agreement with ROBOTIS in 2024 for indoor and outdoor delivery robot services, it applied its robot platform to major premium hotels in Korea. Last month, it joined hands with HD Hyundai XiteSolution to conduct a logistics AI transformation (AX) pilot that controls industrial vehicles such as unmanned forklifts on a single platform, expanding its integrated control capabilities to logistics sites.
T Map Mobility is turning road and driving data accumulated on its navigation platform T Map into AI services. The AI automatically extracts map information such as speed limits, no parking or standing zones, and new roads, and refines GPS track errors and duplicate data to improve routing accuracy. It also runs a "festival mobility AI solution" that analyzes user movement data to predict congestion around event venues and supports dispersion of routes and parking, while expanding AI-based mobility solutions into corporate and public sectors.
Meanwhile, some corporations are betting on data generated from offline infrastructure. Humax Mobility, which owns parking-specialist subsidiary Hi Parking, is pushing to automate infrastructure based on nationwide parking lot operations data. It uses AI to analyze vehicle entries and exits, traffic flow, and dwell times—previously checked by staff—to guide drivers to open spaces and adjust parking product prices in real time. The plan is to boost user convenience while increasing space utilization and revenue.
A Humax Mobility official said, "Through the cloud-based integrated parking control platform MHP, we centrally manage entries and exits and sales at about 800 sites," adding, "With the AI-based available space analysis system, we can predict open parking spots at around 98% accuracy."
SOCAR is using real-world driving data accumulated through car sharing to develop Autonomous Driving technology. According to SOCAR, vehicles in its nationwide fleet of about 25,000 collect roughly 1.1 million kilometers of real-world driving data per day on average. This data includes driving information such as vehicle speed, steering, braking, and acceleration, and is used for Autonomous Driving AI training and service validation.
Last month, it established the Autonomous Driving corporation Apex Mobility with Krafton and began the phased commercialization of Autonomous Driving services. Apex Mobility will start with a Level 2 car-sharing service and plans to expand into a Level 4 fully Autonomous Driving B2C service in the future.
Industry observers say the center of gravity in competition among mobility corporations is shifting from the services themselves to the ability to leverage data. An industry official said, "In mobility services, it is increasingly important how precisely you accumulate data in the processes of hailing, driving, parking, and vehicle operations and how you use it," adding, "Companies that embed secured data into real services such as Autonomous Driving, robot control, and traffic solutions will gain a competitive edge."