Naver Joins Hands with Saudi Arabia for Digital Transformation Initiative

Naver has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MOMRAH) and the Ministry of Investment Saudi Arabia (MISA) to work together on the country’s Digital Transformation (DX) initiative.

The announcement followed a signing ceremony in Riyadh attended by senior officials from both sides.

The collaboration marks a significant milestone for Naver, which has a decade of experience operating its Gak Chuncheon data center and has been investing in advanced technologies such as robotics, autonomous driving, and digital twins since the establishment of Naver Labs in 2017.

Saudi Arabia’s various initiatives for comprehensive digital transformation, including Neom City, the world’s largest smart city project, have attracted the attention of global technology companies.

As a partner in this initiative, Naver and Naver Labs, and Naver Cloud will work with MOMRAH and MISA to deliver digital services to Saudi citizens.

This will include using AI and robotics-based digital twin technology to simulate and monitor Saudi Arabian cities and developing a “super app” based on Naver’s ultra-scale AI and cloud technologies.

Sunjoo Chae, Naver’s ESG and external policy representative, expressed the company’s commitment to actively collaborate with the Saudi government to contribute to the national digital transformation.

The cooperation aims to establish Naver as a global IT company by further exploring the global market.

Naver has continuously exchanged with Saudi Arabia since November last year when it joined the “One Team Korea” support group.

The partnership has fostered discussions on how digital technology can be used in urban planning and operations, such as environment and safety.