Export Approval for Autonomous Driving as a "National Core Technology"
Special Envoy Visit Following President Lee's State Trip to the UAE
Project Orders Worth 7.6 Million Dollars Expected Within This Year
Autonomous driving company Autonomous A2G has become the first in the industry to receive export approval for autonomous driving as a "national core technology," successfully entering the Middle Eastern market.
Autonomous A2G announced on the 26th that on the 25th (local time) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), it delivered the export approval certificate to the Korean special delegation led by Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoonshik and to its local joint venture.
On the 25th (local time) in the United Arab Emirates, at the 'Korea-United Arab Emirates Autonomous Driving Export Approval Handover Ceremony', Yoo Minsang, CSO of Autonomous A2G, Ha Jungwoo, Senior Presidential Secretary for AI Future Planning at the Blue House, and Muneera Al Marzooqi, Executive Director of Space42, are posing for a commemorative photo. Autonomous A2G
Autonomous driving is designated by the government as a national core technology, and prior approval from the relevant authorities is required for exports from a technology security perspective. Autonomous A2G obtained export approval for the first time in the autonomous driving field after undergoing a review by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, once again proving its technological competitiveness.
This is a follow-up measure to the future industry cooperation agreement signed during President Lee Jaemyung's state visit to the UAE in November last year. Autonomous A2G had established a Middle East autonomous driving joint venture with UAE AI space-tech company Space42.
The export approval was granted to the UAE under the declaration of the leaders of both countries, enabling the joint venture to complete verification of autonomous driving technology and institutional procedures and to move into the stage of actual business execution.
The handover ceremony was attended by Ha Jungwoo, Senior Secretary for AI Future Planning at the Blue House; Minister-Counsellor Choi Youngjun of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the United Arab Emirates; and Director Kim Sangjin of the National AI Strategy Committee, as part of the Korean special delegation. From Autonomous A2G, CSO Yoo Minsang accompanied the delegation, sharing the business roadmap of the local joint venture and discussing strategies for demonstration and commercialization, while Space42 Executive Director Muneera Al Marzooqi also confirmed the approval certificate together with them.
Autonomous A2G will deploy its independently developed Level 4 autonomous vehicle "ROii" and a variety of modified vehicles in the UAE. Leveraging Space42's AI infrastructure and data capabilities, the joint venture is gradually expanding autonomous vehicle production and demonstration projects, as well as AI mobility businesses, across the Middle East.
Autonomous A2G is pursuing project orders worth 7.6 million dollars (approximately 11.0 billion won) within this year and plans to generate local revenue of 78 million dollars (approximately 110.0 billion won) by 2035. These figures reflect the UAE government's policy blueprints, including converting 25% of Dubai's public transportation to autonomous driving by 2030 and achieving full autonomous driving conversion in Abu Dhabi by 2040.
Han Jihyung, CEO of Autonomous A2G, said, "This goes beyond a single company's overseas expansion and signifies that autonomous driving, as a core technology, has entered the global stage to lead Korea into becoming one of the world's top three artificial intelligence (AI) powers," adding, "We will not only prove the competitiveness of the Korean model of autonomous driving in the local market by putting safety and quality first, but also devote ourselves to technology development in line with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's mobility roadmap to commercialize Level 4 autonomous driving by 2027."
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