“Global leap forward, leading the autonomous driving era”, CEO Han Ji-hyeong > News (주)오토노머스에이투지

The era of autonomous driving is not the future that will come within a year or two. However, when the era of autonomous driving begins in earnest, it is a market that is expected to experience explosive growth. This is why we are preparing quickly from the initial stage of market formation to secure competitiveness in the future.

Autonomous a2z is also preparing for the era of autonomous driving with the goal of mass production of autonomous vehicles in 2027. It boasts unrivaled competitiveness with software as well as car production technology. The fact that it received a love call from SI as well as FI in the first institutional investment attraction proves this.

◇ 'First institutional investment round' Series A 16 billion procurement, Kakao Mobility SI participation

Autonomous a2z was established in July 2018 as a start-up company by professors at Kyungil University. It was jointly founded by four professors from Hyundai Motor's autonomous driving advanced research center. The name of the company Autonomous A2G contains the meaning of solving autonomous driving from a to z.

(왼쪽부터) 허명선 기술이사, 한지형 CEO, 유병용 기술이사, 오영철 CTO. 사진/오토노머스에이투지

Han Ji-hyeong, CEO of Autonomous a2z, said, “We started as a venture company that developed software necessary for autonomous driving. I've been mainly doing this," he said.

The market that Autonomous a2z has focused on is B2G. CEO Han said, "Since the market has not yet been formed, we have established a strategy to build technological reliability by operating a pilot service in cooperation with the government and local governments." explained. 

Concerns about the future were deep. The government R&D project is a project in the preparation stage for the era of autonomous driving. This means that after entering the era of autonomous driving, the tasks that Autonomous a2z will take on will no longer be reduced. 

The answer to the trouble was to create its own platform. This year is also a turning point for Autonomous a2z. This is because Autonomous a2z, which started with software development, has expanded its business area to car production. It is against this background that it secured funds from institutional investors for the first time since its establishment.

The investment round was hot. All institutional investors who proposed the investment review participated in the round and made payments. Institutional investors requested a larger amount of investment and succeeded in securing more than three times the originally planned target. The Series A round, which ended last month, was closed at 16 billion won. Kakao Mobility participated as a strategic investor (SI), and Korea Investment Partners, KB Investment, K& Investment Partners, Enlight Ventures, and Kakao Investment were named as financial investors (FIs).

Through the investment round, Autonomous A2z's goal became more concrete. He said, "If we plan to expand our scope to production, we have decided to make an autonomous vehicle that can be mass-produced," he said.

임효정 기자