Kakao Mobility Signs NVIDIA MOU for Level 4 Autonomous Driving

What happened

Kakao Mobility announced on November 9, 2026, that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with NVIDIA to develop Level 4 autonomous-driving technology, initially combining their systems on Kia purpose-built vehicles (PBVs). It plans to introduce an autonomous-driving computing unit containing two NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor chips, intended to process large-scale AI computation in real time.

The safety work extends into software development and validation through NVIDIA Halos. NVIDIA describes Halos OS as a three-layer safety architecture built on ASIL D-certified DriveOS foundations, integrating safety middleware and deployable safety applications.

Kia PBVs Provide the Initial Vehicle Path The companies will prioritize integrated development on Kia PBVs under Kakao Mobility’s July 2026 partnership with Kia to develop PBVs for autonomous-driving services. The planned work pairs Kakao Mobility’s autonomous-driving AI and mobility platform with NVIDIA’s computing, sensing and safety technology.

The stated goal is a Level 4 system aligned with global standards, building on urban driving that Kakao Mobility says has validated its technology in Seoul’s Gangnam district. Dual-Thor Compute and Safety Architecture Kakao Mobility is progressively developing an end-to-end autonomous-driving model that connects perception through decision-making in one model.

That hardware plan connects the model’s development directly to the compute capacity required to run it in a vehicle. NVIDIA describes Hyperion as a standardized reference architecture integrating compute, sensors, networking and safety systems, with DRIVE AGX Thor forming part of the platform.

Kakao Mobility intends to use the architecture to optimize connections among the vehicle, sensors and computing unit while pursuing system stability and compatibility. Together, Hyperion and Halos supply the system architecture and safety framework around Kakao Mobility’s own driving software.