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Kakao Mobility recently signed an agreement with England-based aircraft manufacturer Vertical Aerospace. They have agreed to offer commercial urban air mobility (UAM) services in South Korea and other territories.
As per The Korea Times, Kakao Mobility and Vertical Aerospace joined forces because they have the same opinion that there is a need to set up a global ecosystem for various UAM services in the event of collaboration for a consortium to join in the K-UAM Grand Challenge.
The two companies formed the UAM Future Team consortium with other companies in South Korea, such as GS Engineering & Construction and LG Uplus, so they can take part in the public-private joint demonstration project for air taxi service, which is currently being promoted by the country’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT).
As part of their agreement, Kakao Mobility and Vertical Aerospace will engage in joint research to establish an implementation method for the commercialization of UAMs. They will also explore business feasibility and work on analyzing the size of its potential market in the country. In any case, the new partnership also expands Vertical Aerospace’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region since Kakao Mobility placed an order for its VX4 Aircraft.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Kakao Mobility,” Vertical’s founder and chief executive officer, Stephen Fitzpatrick, said in a press release. “With its over 30 million registered users, Kakao Mobility is the go-to choice to ‘hail a ride’ and with our partnership, we look forward to people across South Korea being able to fly in a VX4 in the years to come. We are thrilled to be working together to make our joint vision a reality.”
Kakao Mobility’s CEO, Alex Ryu, also said, “We are excited to take part in Vertical Aerospace’s mission to launch its VX4 globally and to bring the UAM service to the Korean market. We will be expanding our business not only on the ground but to the sky through this partnership.”
Photo by: Vertical Aerospace Press Release
