South Korea's Kakao Mobility to Internalize Physical AI, Build Autonomous Driving Ecosystem
Kakao Mobility, the operator of Korea’s largest taxi-hailing platform KakaoT, says it will accelerate a shift from a mobility service to a “physical AI”-based technology company, leveraging its vast mobility data and digital-transformation capabilities.
In a letter to all employees delivered on the 12th, CEO Ryu Geung-seon said the company aims to lead the Physical AI era and secure technological sovereignty, so it can compete with global players on the future of mobility. He stressed that the strategy aligns with the business and will create strong synergies with existing operations.
Ryu outlined the company’s core assets for the move: a data quality system optimized for AI learning from mobility patterns, map data that reflects real-time road changes, standardized operations from dispatch to settlement, and infrastructure hubs that underpin service economics. He said these foundations will form a virtuous cycle that improves service efficiency and quality.
Kakao Mobility plans to speed up internalization of technology and build an autonomous-driving ecosystem. The CEO noted that five years of partnerships and investments in autonomous driving have produced a distinctive asset, and the company will internalize core Physical AI technologies—from software to hardware control—while keeping doors open to collaboration but aiming for technology sovereignty rather than external dependence.
To execute the plan, the company will strengthen a cycle of demonstration, operation, and deployment, reinforce leadership with experience in AI and autonomous driving, and reorganize the tech structure and long-term roadmap to tightly align Physical AI with the platform.
Ryu emphasized that this is a company-wide journey, not a single project, and urged all employees to contribute to both strengthening existing services and expanding into Physical AI, so the next chapter can unfold with broad participation.
Earlier this year, Kakao Mobility established a dedicated Physical AI division and recruited Kim Jin-kyu, who has worked at Google/Waymo and Honda, to lead it. Kim is a professor of computer science at Korea University, bringing substantial autonomous-driving experience to the company’s evolving strategy.
Why this matters for the United States and global audiences: Kakao Mobility’s move signals how a major East Asian mobility platform is pursuing vertical integration of AI and autonomous-driving capabilities, leveraging large-scale data and infrastructure to compete with U.S. and global rivals. A stronger emphasis on internalizing core technologies could influence collaborations, investment, and competition in autonomous driving, mapping, and mobility services, with potential implications for supply chains, data governance, and cross-border tech policy between Korea and the United States.