A joint venture between UAE-based AI SpaceTech company Space42 and South Korea’s Autonomous A2Z has been formed to accelerate the development and commercial rollout of autonomous vehicle technologies across the UAE.
Launched ahead of the DRIFTx event during Abu Dhabi Autonomous Week 2025, the initiative builds on a memorandum of understanding signed last October and reflects growing regional interest in scalable autonomous mobility solutions.
The partnership will concentrate on introducing Level-4 autonomous driving systems, retrofitting existing vehicle fleets with self-driving capabilities, and deploying vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technologies to enable safe, data-driven, and commercially viable driverless mobility.
Hasan Al Hosani, CEO of Smart Solutions at Space42, described the joint venture as a key milestone in advancing “Autonomy 2.0” — marking a shift towards intelligent, adaptive, and data-centric mobility built on sovereign infrastructure, AI, and world-class safety standards.
Jihyeong Han, CEO of Autonomous A2Z, noted that the collaboration aims to establish a robust autonomous driving infrastructure in the UAE, fostering innovation within the national ecosystem and promoting the transition to sustainable mobility.
The venture will begin with a “retrofit-first” model, allowing governments and fleet operators to convert their existing vehicles into autonomous systems rather than replacing them entirely.
This approach is expected to accelerate adoption across sectors such as public transport, logistics, airports, tourism, and municipal services. Pilot operations will commence in Abu Dhabi and Dubai with an initial fleet of five autonomous vehicles, with expansion plans that include regional manufacturing and research.
The initiative aligns with Dubai’s target of making 25 percent of all trips autonomously driven by 2030 and Abu Dhabi’s goal to achieve the same by 2040.
