Kakao Mobility has secured its first overseas technology export deal by supplying a parking management system to Saudi Arabia's massive Diriyah development project.
The move marks a strategic foothold in the Middle East for Kakao, which plans to build a physical artificial intelligence ecosystem encompassing autonomous driving and robotics to realize its "Beyond Korea" vision. Major Korean platform companies are accelerating overseas expansion as the domestic market enters a stagnation phase.
Kakao Mobility announced on January 23 that it signed a paid proof-of-concept (PoC) contract to supply integrated mobility solutions to the Diriyah Project, a smart city development in Saudi Arabia. The deal came seven months after signing a memorandum of understanding with Diriyah Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), in May last year. The contract value was not disclosed for business confidentiality reasons.
The Diriyah Project is a massive infrastructure and urban development initiative near Saudi royal heritage sites, spanning an area 20 times the size of Yeouido with a total investment of $63 billion (approximately 90 trillion won). Kakao Mobility will provide an integrated solution to operate and manage large-scale parking facilities capable of accommodating more than 60,000 vehicles in the new city. The company will first conduct a PoC at an underground parking facility for approximately 5,000 vehicles before securing full operational rights upon proving business viability.
Kakao Mobility also unveiled plans to expand its future mobility technologies locally using this export as a springboard. The contract includes potential cooperation on smart city development such as platform-based robot delivery services.
"A sophisticated data-driven parking platform will become core infrastructure connecting autonomous vehicle charging and standby operations with robot delivery services," said Ryu Geung-sung, CEO of Kakao Mobility. "Through successful PoC execution, we will showcase our physical AI technology capabilities to the global market."
This contract holds particular significance as Kakao's first overseas achievement in its platform business amid efforts to shed its domestic-focused image. Kakao founder Kim Beom-su, head of the Future Initiative Center, announced the "Beyond Korea" strategy in March 2022, targeting overseas revenue to reach 30% by 2025. However, the company fell short of this goal. With its core platform business largely confined to the domestic market, much of Kakao's overseas revenue has come from content divisions including Kakao Piccoma (webtoons) and SM Entertainment (music). Kakao's overseas revenue ratio currently stands at 21.2% as of the end of the third quarter of 2025.
Market analysts note that this project's success has become crucial for Kakao as it rekindles its overseas expansion efforts. Industry observers expect group-wide support given that mobility solutions integrate cutting-edge technologies including AI, data analytics, and robotics.
The company has also presented a blueprint to discover new growth engines leveraging the Diriyah Project. Possibilities include Kakao Mobility and its affiliates securing additional business opportunities in Saudi Arabia, where large-scale national projects continue to emerge, or expanding into smart city development projects in developing regions such as Latin America, Central Asia, and Africa based on experience from "giga projects."
The competitive push by Korean platform companies into overseas markets is expected to reshape the industry landscape. Naver is achieving meaningful results in business-to-business (B2B) services from its Saudi local subsidiary, including cloud infrastructure, foundation models, digital twin solutions, and map-based super apps.
"Korean platform companies are actively pursuing overseas markets through inter-affiliate collaboration," an industry official said. "Once local customer references accumulate, a virtuous cycle leading to additional contracts will form."