RideFlux self-driving car (provided by RideFlux)
South Korean self-driving technology startup RideFlux Inc. has raised $26 billion in a Series B funding round, about four months after winning the country’s first provisional permit to run driverless cars at normal speeds. raised KRW ($1.9 million). .
The company announced on Thursday that it has raised 26 billion won in a Series B round led by existing backer Athinum Investment Co.
Additional investors include Yuanta Investment Co., Korea Investment Partners, Murex Partners, state-run Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), iM Investment Partners, Friend Investment Partners, Korea Investment & Securities Co., and NVestor Co.
Together with the latest fund, RideFlux has raised a total of 55.2 billion won since its establishment in 2018.
The company plans to use the proceeds to hire more software developers, advance self-driving technology and expand its business portfolio.
The startup, headquartered on Jeju Island, plans to expand into other major cities in South Korea, such as Seoul and Busan, in addition to providing freight transportation services using self-driving trucks.
We are currently developing a self-driving truck with a capacity of 25 tons.
Park Jung-hee, co-founder and CEO of RideFlux, said, “We will further advance self-driving technology through software development and expand our partnerships with mobility services, auto manufacturing, and logistics companies to achieve Level 4 self-driving technology. We will lead the way in commercialization.” .
South Korea’s first self-driving car runs at normal speed
RideFlux won a provisional permit in June, making it the first company in South Korea to run driverless cars on roads at normal speeds.
NEMO Ride jointly operated with Kakao Mobility (provided by Kakao Mobility)
With the provisional license, a sports utility vehicle (SUV) equipped with an autonomous driving system and radar sensor developed by RideFlux was allowed to drive in a circular 3.2 km section within the autonomous driving test drive area in Seibu Sangam-dong. Soul. It can run at a maximum speed of 50km/h.
As a result, Level 4 autonomous driving services, which do not require a safety driver in the front seat, are expected to be put into practical use this year.
The SUV equipped with RideFlux autonomous driving technology passed performance and safety tests at the country’s largest autonomous driving pilot zone in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province in December last year.
RideFlux has announced various self-driving services since 2020.
In March, we partnered with Kakao Mobility, Korea’s No. 1 taxi-hailing app operator, to operate NEMO Ride, an autonomous ride-hailing service on Jeju Island.
There is also a self-driving minibus service that runs 116 kilometers round trip within the resort island.
Please email Joo-Wan Kim at kjwan@hankyung.com.
Sookyung Seo edited this article.
