Autonomous A2Z Selected for 'Unicorn Bridge'… Accelerating Global Expansion of Autonomous Driving

Autonomous driving company Autonomous a2z (CEO Han Ji-hyung, hereinafter referred to as a2z) announced on the 25th that it has been selected for the 'Unicorn Bridge' project by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

The newly established Unicorn Bridge project this year is a programme designed to identify companies with innovative performance and growth potential, and nurture them into globally competitive unicorn companies. Selected companies will receive up to 1.6 billion won in government subsidies over two years, along with up to 20 billion won in special guarantees from the Korea Technology Finance Corporation, as well as opportunities to attract overseas investment.

a2z was selected as a supporting company for this project in recognition of its capabilities representing K-autonomous driving, including ranking 7th in the world on the autonomous driving leaderboard published by global market research firm Guidehouse, deploying autonomous vehicles for APEC 2025, operating the largest fleet of autonomous vehicles in South Korea, and achieving the longest cumulative mileage. Having previously been selected as a preliminary unicorn company by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in 2024, a2z has once again proven its potential by being named in the Unicorn Bridge project.

a2z is the only full-stack autonomous driving company in South Korea, covering everything from autonomous driving software to vehicle manufacturing and control system development. It is currently carrying out autonomous driving demonstration projects in 13 cities and provinces across the country, and was recently selected as a participating company in a large-scale autonomous driving demonstration project in Gwangju Metropolitan City, promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Its self-developed Level 4 autonomous shuttle 'ROii' is a dedicated unmanned autonomous vehicle integrating the vehicle platform, autonomous driving system, and control technology. It has been used in nationwide demonstration projects, including in Seoul and Ulsan, and surpassed 10,000 cumulative passengers last month.

The company is also expanding its business achievements in overseas markets. In Singapore, it is broadening its business scope by winning local government projects and collaborating with Grab, while in the UAE it has established a local joint venture—the first South Korean company to do so—and in Japan it is participating in a robotaxi demonstration project, thereby strengthening its global business foundation.

Through the Unicorn Bridge project, a2z plans to accelerate the commercialisation of autonomous driving based on ROii exports, and enhance its competitiveness by expanding its business in Singapore, among other initiatives.