RideFlux, a self-driving software startup, has launched its first self-driving paid cargo transportation service in Korea to preempt the middle-mile B2B market. RideFlex announced that it will start paying cargo transportation service for the first self-driving truck in Korea with Hanjin Shipping on the 1st.
The route is a 116km one-way route that departs from Gunsan Express Cargo Customs Clearance Station and arrives at Daejeon Mega Hub Center via Jeonju Hanjin Courier Center, and runs twice a week during daytime hours. The vehicle will be equipped with a 25-ton Tata Daewoo Maxsen truck and will carry up to 11 tons of courier cargo and run at a maximum speed of 90 kilometers per hour. Specialized safety personnel will be in the driver’s seat for safety. In addition to regular paid transportation, RideFlux plans to maximize driving completion by conducting its own test operations, focusing on data collection, two to three times a week.
The commercialization is significant in that RideFlex realized its promise to expand regular transportation contracts and service areas nationwide with large logistics companies, which it announced when it obtained permission to transport self-driving trucks from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the first time in Korea in April.
As a result, RideFlux has begun to shift its constitution to the high-profit B2B market by breaking away from the existing B2G-oriented business structure of the autonomous driving industry. In particular, securing B2B performance is expected to be a decisive opportunity to meet the “performance visibility” required by exchanges and capital markets ahead of the KOSDAQ listing preliminary review request in the second half of this year.
RideFlex plans to expand its paid cargo transportation service nationwide, including Chungbuk, Gangneung, and Jeju, in partnership with other partner companies within this year. Furthermore, by combining driver-out technology without safety personnel in the driver’s seat, which is currently being tested in Sangam, Seoul, with self-driving trucks, it aims to completely unmanned in the middle-mile area between logistics bases next year.
“The launch of the paid cargo transportation service means that Rideflux’s autonomous AI technology has settled on a commercialization trajectory that generates substantial sales at the actual logistics business site,” said Park Joong-hee, CEO of Rideflux. “We will lead the innovation of the middle mile market with domestic top tier logistics companies and successfully conclude the KOSDAQ listing in the second half of this year based on proven technology and business feasibility to solidify our position as Korea’s leading autonomous driving technology company.”