1999-founded South Korea’s domestic search engine, NAVER invests in the seed round in whereable.ai through its corporate venture (CV) arm, NAVER D2SF. whereable.ai is an AI-powered autonomous driving startup founded in 2024 by the cofounders of ThorDrive, one of South Korea’s first-generation autonomous driving startups.
With companies like Tesla and Waymo leading the global autonomous driving market, whereable.ai is developing highly scalable autonomous driving technology. The solution will use self-supervised learning to recognize real-time road conditions and adapt to environmental changes through continuous learning and optimization. This Korean startup’s technology processes data directly on devices rather than relying on cloud computing. This allows for flexible adjustments to driving locations and routes according to customer needs. It is a plug-and-play solution, which enables immediate operation without requiring high-definition maps or additional infrastructure support.
whereable.ai’s founding team possesses full-stack autonomous driving technology and has accumulated extensive experience in technology commercialization and real-world applications across South Korea and the United States. Leveraging this expertise, whereable.ai formed a consortium with hy Mobility and ATEC Mobility in just four months after its founding, successfully securing a project for the deployment of autonomous mobility (AM) vehicles in the departure hall of Incheon International Airport’s Terminal 2.
Currently, 10 autonomous indoor transport vehicles are undergoing test runs at Incheon International Airport, with official operations set to begin in the first half of 2025. Building on this momentum, whereable.ai has identified international airports as its primary target market and plans to expand into indoor and outdoor autonomous driving in large shopping malls, resorts, golf courses, campuses, and industrial facilities.
Yang Sanghwan, Head of NAVER D2SF said “whereable.ai, with its outstanding technical capabilities and extensive field experience, is well-positioned to quickly secure leadership in the indoor and low-speed vehicle (LSV) autonomous driving market.”
Meanwhile, NAVER D2SF is the corporate venturing arm of Korean tech company NAVER. Through its R&D subsidiary, NAVER LABS, NAVER continues to develop various cutting-edge technologies in autonomous driving, robotics, and digital twin. Currently, NAVER operates about 100 autonomous delivery robots (Rookie).
