Kakao Mobility Collaborates with UK Vertical to Accelerate UAM Commercialization

Steven Fitzpatrick, CEO of Vertical Aerospace, and Ryoo Geung-sun, CEO of Kakao Mobility, are posing for a commemorative photo. (Photo by Kakao Mobility)

Kakao Mobility is collaborating with UK-based UAM (Urban Air Mobility) aircraft manufacturer Vertical Aerospace (hereinafter Vertical) to “commercialize UAM services domestically and jointly pursue global business.”

On the 17th, Kakao Mobility held a “UAM Service Partnership Agreement Ceremony” at its Pangyo office, attended by key figures including Kakao Mobility CEO Ryu Geung-seon, Head of Future Mobility Research Institute Jang Seong-wook, and Vertical CEO Steven Fitzpatrick.

This agreement was reached based on a shared recognition of the need to build a global ecosystem during the collaboration within the consortium participating in the K-UAM Grand Challenge. The two companies have been participating as the “UAM Future Team” consortium alongside LG Uplus, GS Construction, and others in the public-private joint demonstration project “K-UAM Grand Challenge” promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

First, the two companies will form a joint research group starting with this official partnership. Through this, they plan to establish commercialization execution strategies aligned with Korea’s UAM policy direction, and intensify joint research to verify business feasibility, including analyzing the potential domestic market size and determining the appropriate scale for aircraft introduction. Looking ahead to participation in UAM demonstration and pilot projects, Kakao Mobility has expressed its intention to purchase Vertical’s aircraft “VX4” and aims to proceed with the development of safe flight technologies and review social acceptance.

Cooperation in the global UAM market will also be concretized. Currently, the global UAM market is mainly composed of aircraft manufacturers and vertiport constructors, with no “platform solution” players securing user accessibility. Based on this partnership, Kakao Mobility plans to build an ecosystem with various global UAM stakeholders and explore overseas expansion in the “multimodal mobility” sector that encompasses both ground and aerial transportation, beyond ride-hailing.

Kakao Mobility CEO Ryu Geung-seon stated, “Through a partnership with Vertical, which has high technological completeness, we plan to successfully complete the K-UAM Grand Challenge and closely cooperate for subsequent commercialization. Kakao Mobility will leverage its MaaS platform operation expertise to develop an industry-standard model for UAM services and expand it to the global market.”

Meanwhile, on the 16th, Kakao Mobility and Vertical met with Minister Won Hee-ryong at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Sejong office to discuss domestic UAM commercialization vision and cooperation plans for demonstration projects. At this meeting, the two companies exchanged various opinions with the Ministry regarding plans to establish domestic aircraft certification guidelines, support for UAM aircraft import and export, building a mutual certification system between Korea and the UK, and strengthening international cooperation with Europe and the UK.