Google will invest over 50 billion won( 44 million dollars) in South Korean taxi-hailing startup, the top taxi-hailing company in South Korea named Kakao Mobility.
The deal, which places Kakao Mobility’s total value at over $2.9 billion, will give Google a 1.69% stake in the startup.
The deal places Kakao Mobility’s total value at 3.35 trillion won. Google and Kakao Mobility have agreed to cooperate in the development of cloud-based artificial intelligence technology and create synergy between Google services and Kakao Mobility’s platform.
The latest announcement comes as Kakao Mobility faces competition from newcomer UT, a joint venture between T Map Mobility Co., a subsidiary of South Korea’s top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co., and U.S. ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc.
UT will release a new service in the middle of the year by combining existing taxi-hailing services from Uber and T Map Mobility, reports Yonhap news agency.
