Baidu follows Waymo in setting up Korean unit as robotaxi race heats up

Baidu Apollo Korea established in Gangnam

VP Yang Nan, who oversees Apollo Go's overseas operations, listed as director

Move follows Waymo and Google's high-precision map approval

Competition with domestic platforms such as Kakao intensifies

Baidu's headquarters in Beijing. [Reuters]

Baidu, China's largest search portal, has established a Korean subsidiary to pursue its driverless robotaxi business in South Korea.

The move comes after Google's Waymo — widely regarded as the world's top robotaxi operator — set up its own Korean unit in July, deepening the battle between global technology companies and domestic platform firms for control of South Korea's autonomous driving market, a contest that has intensified since restrictions on the use of high-precision maps were eased.

According to the IT industry on Friday, Baidu registered the entity under the name "Baidu Apollo Korea" at an address in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam, Seoul, on April 30.

The company's stated business purposes include autonomous driving and mobility technology research, development and services; automobile import, export, sales, retail and leasing; mobility service operations covering ride-hailing, carpooling and shuttle services; and the collection, production, processing and sale of high-precision digital map data.

"Apollo," which appears in the subsidiary's name, is the brand representing Baidu's autonomous driving business. Baidu operates a driverless robotaxi service called Apollo Go and has been expanding the business overseas. Users hail a vehicle through a dedicated app, and a driverless autonomous vehicle then transports them to their destination.

Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. [Getty Images]

Baidu is considered one of the global leaders in the robotaxi market alongside Waymo. As of the second quarter, Apollo Go operated in 28 cities outside China. Its cumulative autonomous driving distance has surpassed 350 million kilometers. The company also runs the Apollo RT6, a fully driverless electric vehicle with no steering wheel.

Yang Nan, a Baidu vice president, has been named director of the Korean subsidiary. Yang oversees the international operations division of Baidu's intelligent driving business group. She joined Baidu in January and is responsible for Apollo Go's business outside mainland China.

The industry is paying close attention to the fact that Baidu has established a standalone Korean entity even as it is reportedly pursuing a joint venture with domestic firm HIM. HIM was formed through the merger of Unmanned Solution, a first-generation South Korean autonomous driving company, and Biotr Korea, a subsidiary of auto parts maker Hyorim Precision.

Industry observers interpret this as a dual-track structure in which Baidu Apollo Korea serves as the local base for Baidu's headquarters operations while the joint venture handles service delivery. Under this arrangement, the wholly owned subsidiary would manage government licensing for autonomous driving and handle technology cooperation with domestic partners, while actual services would be rolled out jointly with local operators.

An Ioniq 5 autonomous vehicle supplied to Google's Waymo. [Jeong Gyeong-su]

South Korea's robotaxi competition has taken on a global dimension since the government approved the export of Google's high-precision map data in February. Waymo established its Korean subsidiary in July and is currently working with Hyundai Motor Company to verify fully driverless commercial operations using the Ioniq 5.

Competition between global players and domestic platforms is expected to intensify further. Kakao Mobility has been running an autonomous taxi service using its own self-driving technology in the Gangnam area of Seoul since March, and expanded its fleet from two vehicles at launch to six last month. A consortium of Hyundai Motor and T-money Mobility was recently selected as an operator for Seoul's autonomous taxi service and is participating in domestic pilot operations.

chami@heraldcorp.com