Naver to aid in Saudi’s digital transformation, green light for Neom deal

South Korea’s online business giant Naver Corp. said on Thursday it has signed an initial agreement with the Saudi Arabian government to assist the Middle Eastern country in its digital transformation initiative.

Under the memorandum of understanding, Naver and its two affiliates, Naver Labs and Laver Cloud Corp., will develop various digital platforms based on artificial intelligence and cloud technology.

Naver signed the MOU with two Saudi government agencies – the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Investment – in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

Naver said it will be asked to provide its expertise in building a digital infrastructure, using Naver’s robotics, cloud and digital twin technology. The Korean company will also use its hyper-scale AI platform HyperCLOVA to help Saudi Arabia construct a super app.

Naver Cloud, the artificial intelligence unit of the top Korean search engine operator, is Korea’s largest homegrown cloud service provider.

“With this MOU, our chance of winning a deal for Saudi Arabia’s Neom city project has also grown significantly,” said a Naver official.

Naver is a member of the One Korea Team, which was launched last November by Korea’s land, infrastructure and transport minister to support Korean companies’ efforts to win business contracts in Saudi Arabia.

Last month, 19 Saudi Arabian government officials, including Alhassan Alhazmi, general manager of the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence, visited Naver 1784, Naver Labs' robot-friendly headquarters, to discuss business cooperation.

NEOM MEGACITY PROJECT

Saudi Arabia is pushing to build Neom, a smart city to be fully run on renewable energy such as solar power and green hydrogen as well as cutting-edge technologies, including 5G networks, the Internet of Things, cloud computing and robotics, in a desert area in the kingdom's northern Tabuk Province.

Korean firms are striving to join the estimated $500 billion Neom megacity project in the oil-rich kingdom.

Last November, Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia, visited Seoul to discuss business cooperation with Korean companies.

During his stay in Seoul, the Saudi leader clinched several deals worth a combined $30 billion.

Chae Seon-Ju, Naver’s ESG and external affairs chief and in charge of the tech company’s business in Saudi Arabia, said, “we will actively support Saudi’s digital transformation projects. Naver is doing its best to explore global markets to become a leading tech company.”

Write to Seoung-Woo Lee at leeswoo@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.