Kakao Mobility Partners with US Archer to Commercialize 'Korean-style UAM'

Nikhil Gol Archer, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Aviations, and Jang Sung-wook, Head of the Future Mobility Research Institute at Kakao Mobility, are taking a commemorative photo at the signing ceremony. Photo by Kakao Mobility

Kakao Mobility announced on the 31st that it will collaborate with Archer Aviation, a global urban air mobility (UAM) aircraft manufacturer based in the United States, to commercialize Korean-style UAM services.

Archer is considered one of the aircraft manufacturers with a high likelihood of certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Kakao Mobility explained that it expects rapid domestic certification through the Korea-style Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge, a public-private cooperative demonstration project led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Recently, it also joined the 'UAM Future Team' consortium, which includes Kakao Mobility, LG Uplus, and GS Construction.

Kakao Mobility and Archer plan to collaborate for the Korea-style Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge. They will conduct joint research to utilize UAM aircraft in the first phase of demonstration tests scheduled for the end of this year.

To ensure successful service commercialization, they plan to promote a public demonstration flight of Archer’s aircraft by the fourth quarter of this year and simultaneously review the development of safety and certification standards for UAM aircraft and service operations. Kakao Mobility has expressed its intention to purchase up to 50 units of Archer’s aircraft model 'Midnight.'

Ryu Geung-seon, CEO of Kakao Mobility, stated, "Archer is one of the companies expected to be the fastest to succeed in UAM aircraft certification and mass production, having signed a contract worth $142 million with the U.S. Air Force, so we plan to cooperate closely."

Meanwhile, Kakao Mobility is also continuing its partnership with the UK aircraft manufacturer Vertical Aerospace for UAM commercialization. It plans to continuously explore specific cooperation plans not only for domestic UAM commercial services but also for the global market.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.