Kakao Mobility, South Korea’s largest mobility-as-a-service platform operator, is expected to accelerate its business expansion with a recent investment from Carlyle Group.

International investment firm Carlyle Group Thursday agreed to invest $200 million in Kakao Mobility, valuing the South Korean mobility platform operator at 3.42 trillion won ($3.09 billion).

Kakao Mobility currently operates Kakao T, the country’s most popular taxi-hailing platform used by around 28 million users. The app also provides parking, navigation and electric bike sharing services.

Kakao Mobility is expected to leverage the fund to expand its mobility business in South Korea, while investing in research and development of new technologies, including autonomous driving.

“Our partnership with Carlyle will enable us to expedite our growth strategy for our smart mobility platform, which aims to create a more comfortable and convenient mobility experience for users,” said Ryu Gung-seon, chief executive officer of Kakao Mobility.

Ryu added that Kakao Mobility will also increase cooperation with other firms to expand its mobility ecosystem via Kakao T platform.

The latest investment from Carlyle Group was the first one Kakao Mobility received since 2017, when the private equity firm TPG Capital made a 500 billion won investment. Kakao Mobility was valued at around 1.6 trillion won back then.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)