Krafton is investing in car-sharing company Socar to establish a joint venture focused on autonomous driving services. The primary reason is for AI research.

According to a filing by Socar on the 30th, Krafton is investing 65,000,000,001 KRW into Socar through a third-party capital increase. The entire amount will be used for the joint venture. Socar plans to establish a 150 billion KRW autonomous driving joint venture, Apex Mobility, sometime in May.

The purpose of the new entity is to develop and commercialize autonomous driving services and operate an electric vehicle-based autonomous mobility platform. The core plan is to expand the business scope from Level 2 car-sharing to fully autonomous Level 4 B2C ride-hailing services, based on Socar's accumulated data and operational capabilities.

Why would Krafton, a company seemingly distant from autonomous driving or car-sharing, participate as a key investor in this joint venture? During Krafton's Q1 2026 earnings call on the 30th, CEO Kim Chang-han explained that the main reason is to conduct independent AI research and development within the new entity to pursue autonomous driving projects, and to utilize the data obtained in this process for Krafton's 'Physical AI' research.

CEO Kim Chang-han stated during the earnings call, "As a company centered on software AI, partnering with a firm like Socar, which has extensive experience managing offline vehicles and drivers, is essential for our Physical AI business," adding, "For Krafton, the advantage lies in securing data that can be utilized for Physical AI."