Kakao Mobility to Run Nvidia DRIVE AGX Thor Pairs in Kia PBVs for Level 4

Two Nvidia DRIVE AGX Thor processors per vehicle will form the brain of Kakao Mobility's Level 4 autonomous driving program, built on Kia purpose-built vehicles (PBVs, chassis designed for specific services rather than passenger car use). Kakao Mobility announced the memorandum of understanding with Nvidia on 9 November at the Westin Seoul Parnas in Gangnam.

The deal integrates Kakao Mobility's in-house autonomous driving AI with Nvidia's computing, sensing and safety technology on the Kia PBV platform. Level 4 autonomy means the vehicle drives itself under defined conditions without driver intervention. The partners also left open a mid-to-long-term push into global autonomous driving markets.

What hardware is actually being specified?

Kakao Mobility is developing end-to-end (E2E) autonomous driving AI, in which a single model handles everything from perception to decision-making. To run it, the company will deploy a high-performance autonomous driving computing unit (ADCU) carrying two DRIVE AGX Thor chips. Thor is designed on Nvidia's Blackwell architecture and boosts the compute available for autonomy models.

Three Nvidia components stack onto that base:

• DRIVE AGX Thor x2 — the vehicle-grade AI computing platform inside the ADCU
• Hyperion — Nvidia's sensor architecture, used to optimize sensor-to-hardware integration for system stability and compatibility
• Halos — Nvidia's integrated safety system, applied to autonomous driving software development and validation

The Kia vehicle basis is not new. Kakao Mobility signed a partnership with Kia in July to develop PBVs for autonomous driving services; the Nvidia agreement builds on that foundation. The sequence runs from demonstrating the technology on Kia PBVs to developing and supplying vehicles for Level 4 service.

Why did Nvidia pick Kakao Mobility?

Nvidia gains a Korean partner with both validated autonomy technology and platform reach. Kakao Mobility operates its Seoul autonomous taxi service, Seoul Robotaxi, in the Gangnam district during late-night hours, accumulating real-world driving data. It also develops and operates its own sensor kit, the AV-Kit.

Commercial deployment matters too. Kakao Mobility runs Kakao T, which holds more than 90% of the Korean taxi-hailing app market — a distribution advantage once Level 4 services scale.

Kakao Mobility CEO Ryu Geung-seon said: "Through this cooperation with Nvidia, we will accelerate the advancement of E2E autonomous driving, and prepare for the Level 4 commercialization era as the hub of a global technology ecosystem connecting software, components and finished vehicles."

Rishi Dhall, vice president of automotive at Nvidia, said Nvidia Hyperion provides the sensor and computing foundation needed for Level 4 autonomy, while Nvidia Halos supports a comprehensive safety framework from technology development through live service deployment. "We hope the cooperation between the two companies will accelerate the development of safe and scalable autonomous driving services in Korea," Dhall said.

Kim Jin-kyu, vice president of physical AI at Kakao Mobility, and Gaurav Agarwal, senior director of Nvidia's automotive business, attended the signing. Madison Hwang, Nvidia senior director, had been scheduled to attend but cancelled his Korea trip; Agarwal stood in.

What does this change for practitioners?

For Korean tier-one suppliers and software vendors, the agreement signals that the domestic Level 4 supply chain will be organized around a Kia body, an Nvidia compute-and-safety stack, and a platform operator holding the demand side. Suppliers not plugged into that triangle face a narrowing route to Korean robotaxi volume.

The announced scope is an intention, not a confirmed production commitment — no volumes, dates or capacity figures were disclosed.

Watch next: the timing of Level 4 service vehicles reaching development and supply stages on the Kia PBV line, any expansion of the Gangnam late-night robotaxi zone, and whether the July Kia partnership converts into firm vehicle orders.