Saudi Arabia's Diriyah Co., Kakao Mobility sign deal to boost smart mobility
RIYADH: Diriyah Co., backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea-based Kakao Mobility to enhance smart mobility infrastructure across the historic city of Diriyah.
Announced in a post on X, the agreement is designed to develop integrated transportation solutions to accommodate the 50 million annual visitors projected during the first phase of the Diriyah project.
The partnership will see Kakao Mobility contribute to the implementation of digital transport systems, seamless transit services, and smart parking infrastructure. The initiative aligns with Saudi Arabia's broader push to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on oil, as outlined in Vision 2030.
'Mobility to shape the future of urban mobility. This collaboration brings smart, sustainable solutions to life, enhancing the digital movement experience for over 50 million annual visits by 2030,' Diriyah Co. stated in its post on X.
The agreement marks the beginning of a phased rollout, starting with a smart parking pilot. The project also includes plans for a fully integrated prototype for smart parking and the deployment of advanced digital systems to streamline urban movement within Diriyah.
In addition to enhancing visitor mobility, the collaboration supports Saudi Arabia's National Tourism Strategy, which aims to attract 150 million visitors annually by 2030.
The company emphasized that the digital platform under development will connect key destinations within Diriyah, contributing to sustainable urban mobility and reinforcing the Kingdom's commitment to innovation and smart city solutions.
Once completed, the Diriyah development is expected to contribute SR18.6 billion ($4.96 billion) to the Kingdom's gross domestic product and create approximately 178,000 jobs.
In April, Diriyah Co. awarded a contract worth SR5.1 billion for the construction of the Royal Diriyah Opera House — a major cultural project. The contract was granted to El-Seif Engineering Contracting, Midmac Contracting Co. W.L.L., and China State Construction Engineering Corp.
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Arab News
26 minutes ago
- Arab News
Formula 1 turbocharges Saudi economic diversification drive
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Arab News
42 minutes ago
- Arab News
Why tech startups should choose Riyadh as their MENA launchpad
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Events such as the LEAP Tech Conference and Riyadh Season continue to draw global investors, while local success stories — from Tamara, Saudi Arabia's first fintech unicorn delivering payments and banking, to Salla, an e-commerce platform empowering SMEs with digital storefronts — demonstrate Riyadh's potential as a launchpad for high-growth companies.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Funding flows into frontier tech as startups race to scale
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The new facility follows OCTA's $2.25 million pre-seed round closed in October 2024, co-led by Quona Capital and Sadu Capital. Founded in 2024 by Jon Santillan, Andrey Korchak, and Nupur Mittal, OCTA automates the contract-to-cash process for SMEs—covering invoicing, collections, payments, and now embedded credit. The company claims to offer a unified platform that helps SMEs overcome working capital constraints and cash flow inefficiencies. 'Most SMEs don't fail because they lack revenue — they fail because their cash is locked up,' said Jon Santillan, co-founder and CEO of OCTA. 'Our partnership with Sukna Fund allows us to bring financing directly into the heart of daily operations, where businesses need it most.' The funds will help OCTA scale across Saudi Arabia and other Gulf markets as it targets the underserved mid-market SME segment. SaturnX raises $3m to expand stablecoin-based remittances Dubai-based SaturnX has closed a $3 million seed round led by White Star Capital, with additional support from institutional backers. Founded in 2024 by Mirnas Brescic, SaturnX provides an API-based infrastructure layer for stablecoin payments, designed specifically for business-to-business financial service providers. The new capital will support expansion into Southeast Asia, with initial focus on high-volume remittance corridors such as the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. SaturnX also plans to enhance compliance and enterprise features on its API platform. 'Our vision is to connect the worlds of decentralised and traditional finance with infrastructure that brings the benefits of stablecoins to everyday financial use cases,' said Mirnas Brescic, CEO and Founder of SaturnX. 'Despite considerable progress, cross-border payments are still expensive and slow. By offering a faster, cheaper, and programmable alternative, we're helping financial partners unlock better ways to move money.'
