Kakao Mobility and Nvidia Partner on Level 4 Autonomous Driving

Kakao Mobility, the ride-hailing affiliate of South Korea's Kakao, signed a memorandum of understanding with Nvidia (NVDA) on Monday in Seoul to develop a Level 4 autonomous-driving system, the company said.

The signing took place on the sidelines of the Nvidia AI Day event, a two-day tech gathering hosted by the U.S. chipmaker that kicked off in Seoul. Kim Jin-kyu, vice president of Physical AI at Kakao Mobility, and Gaurav Agarwal, senior director of Nvidia's automotive division, signed the memorandum at The Westin Seoul Parnas hotel in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Nov. 9.

Kakao Mobility said the system will meet global standards and will combine its proprietary autonomous-driving AI models with Nvidia's high-performance AI computing platform. To run, develop and validate the technology, Kakao Mobility plans to use Nvidia Halos, an integrated safety system from the chipmaker.

Ryu Gung-seon, chief executive officer of Kakao Mobility, was quoted as saying in a release that the company will accelerate the advancement of its end-to-end autonomous driving technology and prepare for the era of Level 4 commercialization by serving as a central player in the global technology ecosystem connecting software, components and vehicle manufacturers.

Kakao Mobility is the ride-hailing service affiliate of Kakao. The agreement deepens Nvidia's presence in autonomous-driving software beyond its chips, though the memorandum of understanding is a framework rather than a binding supply contract, and no financial terms, timelines or production targets were disclosed. The company said it aims to prepare for the era of Level 4 commercialization.

Nvidia (NVDA) shares were up 2.78% in delayed trading at $186.64.