Kakao Mobility's Level 4 Autonomous Vehicles to Hit the Road with NVIDIA Chips

MOU with NVIDIA to Collaborate on Autonomous Driving Technology
Move to Develop Level 4 Driverless Vehicles
Autonomous Driving Technology to Be Integrated into Kia PBVs... Global Market Entry Also in View

Kakao Mobility is moving to develop a Level 4 autonomous driving system equipped with NVIDIA's artificial intelligence (AI) computing hardware.

On Nov. 9, Kakao Mobility signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NVIDIA to collaborate on autonomous driving technology. The companies plan to integrate Kakao Mobility's proprietary autonomous driving technology with NVIDIA's computing, sensing and safety technologies in Kia's purpose-built vehicles (PBVs) to develop a Level 4 autonomous driving system for the South Korean market. They also agreed to explore opportunities to enter the global autonomous driving market over the medium to long term.

Kakao Mobility said on the 9th that it will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NVIDIA to collaborate on autonomous driving technology. Pictured is Kakao Mobility's Seoul Autonomous Vehicle operating late at night in Seoul's Gangnam district. Photo courtesy of Kakao Mobility.

Kakao Mobility is developing end-to-end (E2E) autonomous driving AI technology that uses a single model to handle everything from perception to decision-making. The company determined that this requires a high-performance autonomous driving computing unit (ADCU) equipped with two of NVIDIA's DRIVE AGX Thor automotive AI computing platforms. The agreement will also enable the company to improve system stability and compatibility using NVIDIA's Hyperion sensors, which optimize connections between sensors and hardware. In addition, NVIDIA's integrated safety system, NVIDIA Halos, which helps prevent system failures, will be applied to the development and validation of autonomous driving software. The technology will first be implemented in Kia's PBVs, followed by efforts to develop and supply vehicles for Level 4 autonomous driving services.

NVIDIA selected Kakao Mobility as its partner for the South Korean market in part because the company can leverage not only its autonomous driving technology validation capabilities but also its platform strengths. Kakao Mobility is collecting driving data for autonomous driving by operating Seoul Autonomous Vehicles, self-driving taxis, late at night in Seoul's Gangnam district. It has also developed and operates AV-Kit, a sensor kit for autonomous vehicles, giving it expertise in sensor technology. Kakao Mobility's operation of Kakao T, which holds more than 90% of the South Korean taxi-hailing app market, is also an advantage for future commercialization.

Kakao Mobility CEO Ryu Geung-seon said, "Through our collaboration with NVIDIA, we will accelerate the advancement of E2E autonomous driving and prepare for the era of Level 4 commercialization as a central player in a global technology ecosystem connecting software, components and finished vehicles."

Madison Huang's Planned Visit to Korea Canceled, Causing Confusion at Multiple Events

However, at the signing ceremony held that morning at the Westin Seoul Parnas in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Madison Huang, NVIDIA's senior director and the eldest daughter of CEO Jensen Huang, had originally been scheduled to attend in person. But after her visit to Korea was canceled, Senior Director Agarwal attended in her place.

NVIDIA's biggest event in South Korea, NVIDIA AI Day Seoul 2026, was also thrown into disarray. The schedule was changed for the Korea AI Startup Partnership Forum, which was to be co-chaired that afternoon by Ryu Je-myeong, Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT. The previous day, a meeting with Bae Kyunghoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, was also suddenly canceled.

A South Korean startup CEO who had been preparing to meet Madison Huang said, "I had important engagements overseas, but I rearranged my schedule and rushed to Korea for today's event." The CEO added, "I have to go overseas again, so this has caused major disruption to my schedule." Amid speculation that the cancellation of Huang's visit was linked to allegations that an individual romantically involved with Jensen Huang was connected to Chinese espionage, NVIDIA said only that it was "due to commitments in the United States."

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