Autonomous A2Z said Thursday it has completed a 40.5 billion won ($27.4 million) pre-IPO funding round, bringing its total funding to 122.5 billion won — the largest amount raised by a self-driving startup in Korea.
The funding comes ahead of the company’s planned initial public offering later this year at the nation’s tech-heavy Kosdaq. It will support expansion of autonomous mobility projects at home and abroad, as well as investment in infrastructure and talent to advance end-to-end AI-based driving technology.
Autonomous A2Z is preparing to participate in a large-scale autonomous driving pilot program led by South Korea’s Transport Ministry. The company plans to use the funds to secure key components such as controllers, sensors and other vehicle parts required for testing and deployment.
The company is also expanding its overseas operations. In Singapore, it runs an autonomous shuttle service with ride-hailing platform Grab and has installed its LiDAR Infrastructure System within the local transport network. It is also pursuing projects in the United Arab Emirates and has begun a robotaxi pilot program in Japan.
Autonomous A2Z aims to accelerate the development of a hybrid autonomous driving system that combines rule-based algorithms with AI-driven decision-making. By leveraging real-world driving data to enhance safety and performance, the company seeks to advance the commercialization of Level 4 fully driverless vehicles.
Autonomous A2Z Co-founder and CEO Han Ji-hyeong stated, “We will reinforce the foundation for commercializing autonomous driving and move forward with our IPO plans. Through the mass production of Level 4 autonomous vehicles and the development of a global data ecosystem, we aim to expand Korean autonomous driving technology worldwide.”
hyejin2@heraldcorp.com
