NAVER D2SF Makes Second Follow-on Investment in Autonomous Vehicle Driving Stimulator Startup MORAI, Strengthening Syner
NAVER D2SF Makes Second Follow-on Investment in Autonomous Vehicle Driving Stimulator Startup MORAI, Strengthening Syner
NAVER D2SF Makes Second Follow-on Investment in Autonomous Vehicle Driving Stimulator Startup MORAI, Strengthening Synergy with NAVER LABS
- Investment to fund further development of MORAI’s unrivaled autonomous driving simulation capability in Korea, based on its outstanding digital twin technology
- NAVER LABS to derive synergetic results, such as its advancing autonomous driving through D2SF investment
- D2SF serves as a coordinator that helps startups to grow further by connecting them with NAVER
2022-02-08
NAVER D2 Startup Factory (D2SF) has made a second follow-on investment in MORAI, an autonomous driving simulation technology startup, following a seed investment in 2018 and a Series A investment in 2020.
MORAI uses proprietary simulation technology to comprehensively verify the stability and reliability of autonomous driving systems. It has already grown into a unique company by developing the one and only full-stack autonomous driving simulation platform in Korea. MORAI’s platform has built a high-quality digital twin based on HD map data and provides a large-scale simulation environment implemented with variables, such as weather and time.
Based on such outstanding technology, MORAI has secured about 100 customers and partners, including universities, research institutes, companies in Korea and abroad. Global clients include NVIDIA, Ansys and dSPACE.
Amongst the partners, the synergy with NAVER LABS, a subsidiary of NAVER that specializes in R&D for leading technologies, is particularly notable. MORAI received its first institutional investment from NAVER D2SF and has continued to cooperate with NAVER LABS since the investment. NAVER LABS’ digital twin-based metaverse platform ARCVERSE is a representative example where NAVER LABS created synergistic results by testing and upgrading its own high-precision map and autonomous driving technology on MORAI’s simulator.
“MORAI’s simulation platform is not only comprehensive but also highly usable from a collaborative partner’s point of view. We have been able to enhance the core technology more efficiently than in the past by easily testing various scenarios that reflect data format and vehicle characteristics,” said Peck Jong-yoon, leader of Autonomous Driving Group at NAVER LABS.
“MORAI has grown into the top autonomous driving simulation company in Korea based on excellent digital twin technology, and is expected to successfully enter global markets, such as the U.S., Germany and Singapore,” said Yang Sang-hwan, leader of NAVER D2 Startup Factory.
“Through cooperation and feedback with NAVER LABS, we were able to settle in the market by quickly identifying customer needs and upgrading products,” said Jung Ji-won, CEO at MORAI. “We expect to create a stronger partnership with NAVER LABS, and we will actively recruit excellent talents to enhance global competitiveness.”
NAVER D2SF is strengthening its role not only as an investor but also as a coordinator that connects NAVER with technology startups, allowing the latter to grow further during their early stages of business. Of the startups invested by D2SF, 71% succeeded in entering agreements with NAVER and are currently in discussion about the details. Espresso Media, a video technology startup in which D2SF made a follow-on investment last year after its 2019 seed investment, is working on a project with NAVER’s video platform. Also, SEVEN POINT ONE, a conversation-based dementia-screening solution startup that attracted investment from D2SF in 2020, is providing AI-based early diagnosis of dementia in cooperation with CLOVA AiCall, a conversational AI service by NAVER.
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