KT solidifies partnership for automobile IoT business
Models promote startup CarVi’s advanced driver assistance system for Lotte’s rental cars in this file photo. / Courtesy of KT
By Yoon Sung-won
KT said Monday it will strengthen its partnership with automobile technology startup CarVi to provide advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to Lotte Rental.
The nation’s second-largest telecom company said it expects to be able to further solidify the partnership as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has announced that it will introduce a law that makes the installation of an ADAS obligatory, to prevent massive car accidents caused by sleepy drivers.
“KT has pushed for business cooperation with startups fostered under the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and Innovation through strategic investments,” KT Creative Economy Initiative Unit Senior Vice President Kim Young-myoung said in a statement. “We will continue to seek promising startups such as CarVi, aiming at establishing an ecosystem for the future.”
The telecom company said CarVi is the nation’s only startup that has original technologies regarding ADAS. The system is designed to provide warnings on forward collision and lane departure, and automatically collects data on the driver’s habits to offer tailor-made assistance. KT said it will jointly develop ADAS products with CarVi and sell them through its marketing channels.
On Tuesday, CarVi signed a contract with Lotte Rental to supply its ADAS systems for 1,000 rental cars. The two companies agreed to complete application of the system within the year.
KT and CarVi have already signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the automobile Internet of Things (IoT) business. The telecom company has also invested 2 billion won in the startup as a strategic partner. In cooperation with the Gyeonggi innovation center, KT has supported CarVi to exhibit its ADAS products at the Consumer Electronics Show 2016 in Las Vegas earlier this year, and invited it to the GiGA IoT Alliance and linked it to China Mobile’s IoT subsidiary for collaboration.