RideFlux Launches Korea's First Autonomous Robotruck Freight Service with Hanjin

Autonomous driving software company RideFlux has partnered with Hanjin to launch South Korea's first paid autonomous truck freight transportation service. By applying autonomous driving technology, which had previously remained at the stage of government-led demonstrations, to actual logistics operations, the company is accelerating its entry into the middle-mile market and speeding up efforts to achieve business results ahead of its planned KOSDAQ initial public offering (IPO) in the second half of this year.

From July 1, RideFlux announced that it has begun paid freight transportation using autonomous trucks in collaboration with Hanjin.

This service covers a total one-way distance of 116 kilometers, starting from the Gunsan special cargo customs clearance center, passing through the Hanjin Jeonju Terminal, and arriving at the Daejeon Mega Hub. The operation is conducted three times a week on a regular schedule during daytime hours, using a Tata Daewoo Maxen 25-ton heavy-duty truck. This vehicle can carry up to 11 tons of parcel cargo and travel at speeds of up to 90 kilometers per hour. For safety, a professional safety officer will be seated in the driver's seat during the operation.

In addition to these regular paid transportations, RideFlux also plans to conduct its own test runs to gather autonomous driving data and further advance its technology. Test runs will be held two to three times per week, and the company aims to enhance driving stability and completion by leveraging data accumulated in real road environments.

The launch of this service is the result of RideFlux’s commercialization plan, which has been pursued since April, when the company became the first in the country to receive government approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for paid autonomous truck freight operations. At that time, the company announced that it had signed regular transportation contracts with major logistics companies and planned to expand its service areas, and it has realized these plans within just a few months.

Industry insiders see this case as a turning point, with autonomous driving companies’ business models expanding from the traditional B2G (government demonstration) focus to the B2B (business-to-business) area, where actual revenue is generated. In particular, securing commercial transportation records with major domestic logistics firms is expected to have a positive impact on future business scalability and corporate value assessments.

For RideFlux, which is preparing for a KOSDAQ listing in the second half of the year, this paid transportation record is considered a core achievement that demonstrates the business feasibility and revenue visibility required by the exchange and investment market.

Previously, in May, RideFlux passed a technical evaluation by receiving an 'A' grade from both of the specialized evaluation agencies designated by the Korea Exchange. In addition to being recognized for its leading Level 4 autonomous driving technology in South Korea, the company has also secured a base of commercial revenue through collaboration with logistics companies, further strengthening its competitiveness for the IPO.

The company plans to expand its autonomous freight transportation service areas within the year by cooperating with additional partners in regions such as North Chungcheong Province, Gangneung, and Jeju. Furthermore, RideFlux aims to apply its driver-out (fully unmanned) autonomous driving technology, which is currently being tested step-by-step in the Sangam area of Seoul without a safety officer in the driver's seat, to autonomous trucks as well. Starting next year, the company intends to implement fully unmanned transportation in middle-mile routes connecting logistics hubs.

RideFlux CEO Park Junghee stated, "The launch of this paid freight transportation service signifies that RideFlux's autonomous driving AI technology has entered the stage of commercialization, generating revenue in real business environments. We aim to lead innovation in the middle-mile market together with major Korean logistics companies, and, based on our proven technology and business feasibility, successfully complete our KOSDAQ listing in the second half of this year, establishing RideFlux as Korea's leading autonomous driving technology company."

By simultaneously achieving both technical evaluation and actual logistics revenue, RideFlux has laid the groundwork to secure leadership in the domestic middle-mile autonomous driving market.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.