Kakao Mobility announced on the 23rd that it has signed a paid Proof of Concept (PoC) contract to supply integrated mobility solutions to the "Diriyah Project," Saudi Arabia's approximately 90 trillion won ($64 billion) smart city development initiative.
The achievement comes seven months after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Diriyah Company in May last year for "joint development of future mobility services," marking the company's first overseas platform export since its founding.
The Diriyah Project, led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), is a large-scale infrastructure and urban development plan connecting the entire 14 square kilometer site. Through this contract, Kakao Mobility will first deploy solutions across three major zones accommodating approximately 5,000 vehicles as the initial phase of building a parking solution for over 60,000 vehicles.
Upon successful completion of the PoC, discussions will proceed on expanding the solution to mobility hubs throughout Diriyah.
The company will deploy its "parking full-stack" technology for this PoC to efficiently manage the movement of over 60,000 vehicles, including in complex underground environments. "AI-based space optimization technology" will be introduced first, featuring nearby parking guidance through demand forecasting and remaining space prediction.
Additionally, the company plans to build advanced "indoor navigation" providing seamless directions even in large underground parking facilities where GPS reception is unavailable, and to offer the entire process of "valet service, entry/exit, and payment" through a single app. The company will also digitize existing parking infrastructure within key Diriyah zones to build user apps, indoor navigation, tenant web solutions, and dedicated valet solutions.
The contract also specifies potential collaboration on smart city development, including platform-based robot delivery. Kakao Mobility expects to showcase various future mobility technologies in Diriyah going forward.
Kakao Mobility CEO Ryu Geung-sun said, "This contract is highly significant as it represents a crucial bridgehead for Kakao Mobility to advance into future mobility technology in the global market, beyond parking management." He added, "As data-driven sophisticated parking platforms are expected to become core infrastructure connecting autonomous vehicle charging and standby, robot delivery, and more, we will demonstrate our physical AI technology capabilities to the global market through successful PoC execution."