# Kakao and NVIDIA plan Level 4 driving

> A planned Korean vehicle-development partnership.

By BIGCHANGE.AI Editorial

Published: 2026-11-10T03:50:39.253Z
Updated: 2026-11-10T03:50:39.253Z
Canonical: https://bigchange.ai/blog/kakao-mobility-nvidia-level-4-driving

![A generic passenger van is stopped beside a city transit shelter.](https://bigchange.ai/api/media/file/mobility-concept.png)
AI-generated illustration for BIG CHANGE

Kakao Mobility and NVIDIA [announced a cooperation agreement](https://www.kakaomobility.com/newsroom/detail/%EC%B9%B4%EC%B9%B4%EC%98%A4%EB%AA%A8%EB%B9%8C%EB%A6%AC%ED%8B%B0-%EC%97%94%EB%B9%84%EB%94%94%EC%95%84%EC%99%80-%EB%A0%88%EB%B2%A84-%EC%9E%90%EC%9C%A8%EC%A3%BC%ED%96%89-%EA%B8%B0%EC%88%A0%ED%98%91%EB%A0%A5-MOU-%EC%B2%B4%EA%B2%B0-411) on November 9 to develop Level 4 autonomous driving technology. 

## The big change

- **The change:** A development agreement.
- **Why it matters:** A driving service needs compatible vehicles, computing and software.
- **What to watch:** An agreement is not an operating driverless service.

## What the partners plan

Kakao says it plans to use NVIDIA’s Hyperion reference architecture and a computing unit with two DRIVE AGX Thor systems, alongside the Halos safety system for development and validation. Initial development is planned around Kia purpose-built vehicles; neither announcement establishes driverless passenger operations with this system.

Level 4 describes a system that can perform the driving task without a human driver within defined operating conditions. [SAE International](https://saemobilus.sae.org/topics/electrical-electronics-and-avionics/automation/driving-automation/level-4-high-driving-automation) distinguishes levels of automation; the operating domain matters because a service designed for particular roads or conditions is not necessarily able to drive everywhere. The classification describes the intended capability, not an independent safety certification of this project.

## Earlier work and the road to service

Kakao’s [July agreement with Kia](https://www.kakaomobility.com/newsroom/detail/%EC%B9%B4%EC%B9%B4%EC%98%A4%EB%AA%A8%EB%B9%8C%EB%A6%AC%ED%8B%B0-%EA%B8%B0%EC%95%84%EC%99%80-%EC%9E%90%EC%9C%A8%EC%A3%BC%ED%96%89-%EC%A0%84%EC%9A%A9-%EC%B0%A8%EB%9F%89-%EA%B0%9C%EB%B0%9C-%EB%B0%8F-%ED%95%B5%EC%8B%AC-%EA%B8%B0%EC%88%A0-%ED%98%91%EB%A0%A5--390) already covered purpose-built vehicles and integration for autonomous-service pilots. At that time, the companies said they intended to supply vehicles and an interface development kit for pilots during 2026, then jointly develop vehicles for commercial service over a longer horizon. 

Separately, Kakao [said in August](https://www.kakaomobility.com/newsroom/detail/%EC%B9%B4%EC%B9%B4%EC%98%A4%EB%AA%A8%EB%B9%8C%EB%A6%AC%ED%8B%B0-%EC%84%9C%EC%9A%B8%EC%9E%90%EC%9C%A8%EC%B0%A8-%EC%A6%9D%EC%B0%A8-%ED%8A%B9%ED%99%94-%EB%A1%9C%EC%A7%81-%ED%83%91%EC%9E%AC%ED%95%B4-%EA%B5%90%ED%86%B5%EC%95%BD%EC%9E%90-%EB%B3%B4%ED%98%B8%EA%B5%AC%EC%97%AD%EC%84%9C%EB%8F%84-%EC%9A%B4%ED%96%89-%EC%8B%9C%EC%9E%91-397) it was expanding its existing Gangnam autonomous-vehicle service from two to six vehicles. That is earlier operational context, not evidence that the newly planned NVIDIA configuration has been deployed.

Riders would need an authorized service with defined operating conditions. 

## Sources

- [Kakao Mobility and NVIDIA sign Level 4 cooperation MOU](https://www.kakaomobility.com/newsroom/detail/%EC%B9%B4%EC%B9%B4%EC%98%A4%EB%AA%A8%EB%B9%8C%EB%A6%AC%ED%8B%B0-%EC%97%94%EB%B9%84%EB%94%94%EC%95%84%EC%99%80-%EB%A0%88%EB%B2%A84-%EC%9E%90%EC%9C%A8%EC%A3%BC%ED%96%89-%EA%B8%B0%EC%88%A0%ED%98%91%EB%A0%A5-MOU-%EC%B2%B4%EA%B2%B0-411) — Kakao describes the agreement and planned technology (Korean).
- [Korea advances physical AI](https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/korea-physical-ai-ecosystem/) — NVIDIA describes the planned autonomous-driving collaboration.
- [Kakao and Kia vehicle partnership](https://www.kakaomobility.com/newsroom/detail/%EC%B9%B4%EC%B9%B4%EC%98%A4%EB%AA%A8%EB%B9%8C%EB%A6%AC%ED%8B%B0-%EA%B8%B0%EC%95%84%EC%99%80-%EC%9E%90%EC%9C%A8%EC%A3%BC%ED%96%89-%EC%A0%84%EC%9A%A9-%EC%B0%A8%EB%9F%89-%EA%B0%9C%EB%B0%9C-%EB%B0%8F-%ED%95%B5%EC%8B%AC-%EA%B8%B0%EC%88%A0-%ED%98%91%EB%A0%A5--390) — Kakao describes its July Kia partnership (Korean).
- [Gangnam autonomous-vehicle expansion](https://www.kakaomobility.com/newsroom/detail/%EC%B9%B4%EC%B9%B4%EC%98%A4%EB%AA%A8%EB%B9%8C%EB%A6%AC%ED%8B%B0-%EC%84%9C%EC%9A%B8%EC%9E%90%EC%9C%A8%EC%B0%A8-%EC%A6%9D%EC%B0%A8-%ED%8A%B9%ED%99%94-%EB%A1%9C%EC%A7%81-%ED%83%91%EC%9E%AC%ED%95%B4-%EA%B5%90%ED%86%B5%EC%95%BD%EC%9E%90-%EB%B3%B4%ED%98%B8%EA%B5%AC%EC%97%AD%EC%84%9C%EB%8F%84-%EC%9A%B4%ED%96%89-%EC%8B%9C%EC%9E%91-397) — Kakao describes the earlier service expansion (Korean).
- [Level 4 high driving automation](https://saemobilus.sae.org/topics/electrical-electronics-and-avionics/automation/driving-automation/level-4-high-driving-automation) — SAE explains defined operating conditions for Level 4.