Kakao Mobility said on Wednesday it signed a research cooperation agreement with Ajou University’s DNA Plus Convergence Department to foster talent in advanced mobility.

Kakao Mobility recently announced a vision to become a “future mobility company based on physical AI” and is expanding technology investment and recruitment in future mobility fields such as autonomous driving and robots. The agreement extends that vision and combines industrial-field data with academia’s research capabilities.

Under the agreement, the two sides will jointly conduct mobility service and public contribution research using Kakao Mobility data and will use research infrastructure together. They will also share research results through internal and external channels and pursue industry-academia cooperation to train specialist manpower in advanced mobility.

Ajou University’s DNA Plus Convergence Department is training future road traffic experts with capabilities in data, networks and artificial intelligence through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s “DNA+ Road Traffic Convergence Technology Graduate School” programme.

Kakao Mobility plans to provide Ajou University researchers with large-scale data and analysis infrastructure accumulated through operating its mobility platform. The partners will hold joint workshops 1 to 2 times a year and will also present joint papers through major academic conferences in South Korea and abroad. They will also run a practical talent development system in parallel by having students participate in Kakao Mobility internships.

Moon Hee-jin (문희진), head of Kakao Mobility’s technology division, said he expects synergy from bringing together Ajou University’s talent and the company’s AI and data capabilities at a turning point where the future of mobility is evolving toward physical AI. He said the company will continue cooperating so South Korean mobility talent can build global competitiveness and will contribute to building a virtuous cycle of technology in which academia and industry grow together.

Yoo Jung-hoon (유정훈), a professor at Ajou University, said the agreement formalises existing cooperation and that he is glad it will enable more concrete research results by using world-class mobility data and infrastructure. He said he will do his best to train key talent that will lead the future mobility industry through a close partnership with Kakao Mobility.