Phenikaa Group (Vietnam) has signed a wide-ranging MOU with Kakao Mobility, a subsidiary of Korea’s leading economic group Kakao, on cooperation on mobility platform tech including autonomous driving & AI.
- The scope of collaboration encompasses core techs for future mobility—MaaS, autonomous cars & drones, HD mapping & AI in South East Asia;
- Kakao T’s success, insights & know-how to support Phenikaa’s ambition to become the biggest mobility platform in South East Asia;
- Two parties to join forces in tech & service to promote tourism between Vietnam and Korea.
Phenikaa Group announced on June 27 that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Kakao Mobility, one of the leading businesses that accompanied Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to Vietnam last week. The signing ceremony was attended by Assoc. Prof. Ho Xuan Nang, Chairman of Phenikaa Group, Dr. Le Anh Son, Vice General Director of Phenikaa Group, CEO of Phenikaa-X, Mr Le Yen Thanh and Ms Bich Nguyen, CEO and CSO of Phenikaa MaaS among others.
Phenikaa Group has a wide presence across industrial production, technology, education, science research, medical healthcare and trade. Aspiring to further growth in tech, the Group has recently expanded its investment, especially in smart mobility by building upon Phenikaa-X, its robotics & autonomous driving subsidiary, and Phenikaa MaaS, which operates BusMap, Vietnam’s most popular public transportation app.
Kakao Mobility and Phenikaa’s collaboration will be initiated in MaaS, where they possess mutual strengths. Under the MOU, Kakao will extend its platform experiences and success strategies to support Phenikaa’s ambition to be the best MaaS platform in South East Asia.
Besides, the two businesses are also planning a joint research project in future mobility, covering major technologies including autonomous driving, HD mapping, and AI, which are the core strengths of Phenikaa-X. Phenikaa-X was founded by a research lab of Phenikaa University, Phenikaa Group’s academic institution, and showcased Vietnam’s first level-4 self-driving vehicle in 2021.
The two parties aim to make inroads into the Southeast Asian region by leveraging and connecting each other’s technologies and services. Specifically, Kakao Mobility would consider integrating the BusMap app of Phenikaa MaaS into its platform, offering great support for Vietnamese visitors to Korea. Their collaboration will go further to promote tourism between South Korea and Vietnam with collaborative marketing and measures to better accommodate the needs of visitors between the two countries.
“Both companies are committed to developing autonomous driving and AI technologies, which are crucial elements of future industrial infrastructure,” said Ryu Gung-seon, CEO of Kakao Mobility. He added, “we will embark on this broad-spectrum collaboration to advance mobility industries in Korea and Vietnam, while boosting bilateral tourism flows by increasing mobility demands of their visitors.”
“In recent years, Phenikaa Group has been focusing on developing smart transportation including the core technologies related to autonomous vehicles, high-definition maps, bus management systems, etc. Cooperation in researching and developing products is an important step to promote each party’s strength. Phenikaa Group hopes that Kakao Mobility will become one of the strategic partners that jointly develop and bring the most advanced products for smart transportation to the market.” said Dr. Le Anh Son, Deputy Director of Phenikaa Group cum CEO of Phenikaa-X.
Kakao Mobility was one of the leading businesses that accompanied President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to Vietnam last week. As a member of the business delegation, it joined a presidential dinner and Korea-Vietnam Business Forum, where it engaged in active exchanges with local IT platforms and mobility companies.
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Source: Vietnam Insider