CODE42, a local startup that is developing an autonomous transportation-as-a-service platform, said Tuesday it has raised 30 billion won ($25 million) in pre-Series A funding from major firms including Kia Motors and conglomerates SK, LG and CJ.

This follows the 2 billion won in seed funding it received from Hyundai Motor in March.

In one of the most successful pre-Series A funding round here, Kia invested the largest portion of 15 billion won, the company added.

The 30 billion won will be used to complete the development of CODE42’s core urban mobility operating system platform – UMOS -- and establish a global ecosystem for the envisioned service, to be called UMOS Connect.

The UMOS platform is designed to integrate a wide range of future mobility options for delivery services such as autonomous vehicles, drones and robots. It will also cover all the processes of mobility and logistics services from ride-hailing to robo taxis to smart logistics and e-commerce, the company said.

“The latest investments demonstrate the trust of investors in our industry-best technology, and equally, enables us to leverage the strength of our partners’ infrastructure and service capabilities to establish a next-generation mobility and logistics service platform,” said Song Chang-hyeon, CEO of CODE42 and a former chief technology officer at Naver.

“Based on their specialized expertise and capabilities, we will be working closely with investor companies in various areas, including autonomous driving and mapping technology, dispatching, fleet management, next-generation in-vehicle infotainment and associated connectivity.”

Since Song founded the company in March, CODE42 has built a track record of innovative software engineering with global IT companies including HP, Microsoft and Apple. Previously, he served as CEO of Naver Lab, leading many projects, including the AI speaker Clova, in-vehicle-infotainment service Away, Papago self-driving technology, HD mapping and robotics solutions.

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