NAVER, NAVER LABS and NAVER Cloud sign an MOU with the two Saudi Arabian Ministries, namely the MOMRAH and the Ministry of Investment.
Team NAVER to participate in comprehensive collaboration across various ICT projects, leveraging its cutting-edge technologies for creating a city-scale digital twin of Saudi Arabia and developing a super-app.
Choi Soo-yeon, CEO, NAVER Corporation announced that NAVER, NAVER LABS, NAVER Cloud have signed an MoU with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing (MOMRAH) of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Investment Saudi Arabia (MISA). Post memorandum they will cooperate on the Saudi Arabian government’s national digital transformation initiative using Team NAVER’s advanced technologies.
MOU signing ceremony between Team NAVER, MOMRAH and MISA was attended by the President of NAVER’s ESG and External Policy Chae Seon-ju, NAVER LABS CEO Seok Sang-ok, Executive Director of NAVER Cloud Han Sang-young, along with Minister Majed Al Hogail and Vice Minister Musaed Alotaibi of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing (MOMRAH), and Minister Khalid Al-Falih and Vice Minister Fahad Alnaeem of the Ministry of Investment Saudi Arabia (MISA). The signing of the MOU is a significant milestone which demonstrates that NAVER’s sustained investment in advanced technologies led to a tangible result.
In 2013, NAVER established “GAK Chuncheon”, the very first data center built by a Korean internet company, as part of its commitment to protecting user data. “Gak Chuncheon” has under its belt at least 10 years of stable operational experience without any disruption, accidents, or disasters. Such experience and expertise became the foundation for NAVER’s ongoing investment in R&D for advanced technologies including robotics, autonomous driving, and digital twin even after NAVER LABS, NAVER’s R&D subsidiary, was founded in 2017.
In addition to Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project aimed at building the world’s largest smart city, the country is making diverse efforts toward digital transformation. NAVER, the Korea’s leading Internet company, has been selected as the global partner of MOMRAH and MISA, out of all the competitive global tech companies for its state-of-the-art technologies including AI, robotics, cloud, autonomous driving, and digital twin.
“The technical prowess of Team NAVER is gaining recognition in the global market after years of sustained investment in cutting-edge technologies, and we will leverage our expertise and collaborate closely to support the Saudi government’s national digital transformation initiative. Taking this case as a significant opportunity, where collaboration began in earnest following our participation in the ‘One Team Korea’, we will further strengthen our efforts to pioneer the global market and stay committed to establishing NAVER as a leading global tech company,” said Chae Seon-ju, President, NAVER’s ESG and External Policy.
With the MOU, Team NAVER, MOMRAH and MISA will be working together comprehensively across all domains for Saudi Arabia’s ICT project for their nationwide digital transformation. Potential projects will utilize Team NAVER’s robotics and AI-enabled digital twin solution for Saudi Arabia’s city-scale simulations and city monitoring, or developing MOMRAH’s “super-app (tentative)” for the country with the use of hyperscale AI and cloud.
