Kakao Mobility to build smart infrastructure for Saudi Diriyah project

Kakao Mobility Corp., which runs South Korea’s most popular ride-hailing app, Kakao T, has clinched a deal to build a future mobility infrastructure, including a smart parking platform, for Saudi Arabia’s $63 billion Diriyah development project.

The agreement with Diriyah marks Kakao Mobility’s most substantial overseas move to date, following taxi-hailing and rental car services in dozens of countries. It also reflects the increasing demand for Asian smart city expertise in the Middle East, where digital-first planning is reshaping the urban development landscape.

Kakao Mobility, the unit of Korean tech giant Kakao Corp., said on Monday that it has signed a contract with state-run Diriyah Company to jointly develop and deploy mobility infrastructure for the Diriyah development – a flagship component of the kingdom’s “Vision 2030 Giga Projects.”

Kakao Mobility Chief Executive Ryu Geung-seon, better known by his English name Alex Ryu, and Diriyah Company Group CEO Jerry Inzerillo signed the deal last week at the Diriyah Gate Development Authority's headquarters.

DIRIYAH TRANSFORMING INTO A SMART CITY

Located on the western outskirts of Riyadh, the 14-square-km Diriyah site is being transformed into a luxury mixed-use urban hub, incorporating heritage sites, high-end resorts, villas, hospitals, and retail centers.

Under the initial agreement, the two leaders pledged to collaborate on digital parking infrastructure as the first phase of a broader smart mobility initiative.

The agreement includes deploying a comprehensive smart parking platform in parts of the site currently open in a pilot phase. The system will cover digital reservations, payments and real-time management of parking lots – with plans to scale up to all of Diriyah by 2030, pending successful trials.

Diriyah Company has allocated space for over 60,000 parking spots across the district, with the project aiming to incorporate integrated smart infrastructure on a large scale. Kakao Mobility's task will be to tailor and validate its technologies in the complex, high-density urban setting.

KAKAO’S TECH INNOVATIONS

Kakao Mobility said it will bring to the Saudi project technological innovations such as its proprietary fused indoor locations (FIN) system, which enables precise vehicle guidance in GPS-dead zones like underground garages.

The company said its universal parking controller (UPC) system will enable multiple parking facilities to operate under a unified system, while its AI-powered analytics can balance demand across regions.

Industry officials said the agreement opens the door for Kakao Mobility to expand into other future mobility services, including ride-hailing, electric vehicle infrastructure and autonomous transport, depending on emerging needs within the Diriyah project.

“It’s an honor to join a project of this scale alongside some of the world’s most prestigious companies. We are committed to demonstrating the capabilities of our integrated mobility solutions through this partnership,” said Kakao Mobility CEO Ryu.

Diriyah Company CEO Inzerillo said: “By bringing cutting-edge parking and mobility technologies to Diriyah, we aim to turn Diriyah into a global destination and model for future cities.”

Write to Eun-Yi Ko at koko@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.