Hyundai Motor has invested in CODE42.ai, a local startup founded by a former chief technology officer for Naver, to strengthen their partnership by developing an open platform for the new mobility-as-a-service market.

The carmaker’s de facto chief, Executive Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun, recently met Song Chang-hyun, CEO and founder of CODE42, to strengthen their partnership on a smart mobility solution called the Urban Mobility Operating System, the company said in a statement. 

UMOS is a next-generation service platform that offers integrated mobility services ranging from car sharing to robo-taxis, logistics and food delivery. The company declined to reveal the size of the investment, citing confidentiality.

The two will explore mobility services and mapping technology as well as technology developments in the areas of connected car services, robotics and artificial intelligence, the company said. Chung has said he wants to turn Hyundai Motor, a traditional carmaker, into a mobility service provider as part of its future growth strategy. The investment is part of that plan, it added.

Launched earlier this year, CODE24 has focused on making innovative changes in lifestyles in line with a market shift toward future mobility, where mobility becomes the central platform for various forms of customer experience.

CODE24’s CEO previously worked as Naver’s CTO and as a CEO of Naver Labs, a research affiliate, leading various projects for the portal giant in areas such as voice recognition, translation, deep learning and virtual reality navigation.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)