Seoul: South Korean tech giant Naver Corp. announced it has finalized a joint venture agreement with Saudi Arabia's National Housing Company (NHC) to develop a digital twin platform in the Middle Eastern nation. The new entity, named Naver Innovation, is supported by investments from Naver Cloud and NHC's subsidiary, NHC Innovation.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this marks Naver's inaugural business operation under Naver Arabia, which serves as the company's dedicated base for Middle East operations. Naver Innovation will spearhead the development of Naver's digital twin platform projects in Saudi Arabia and engage in other smart city initiatives, which include creating a mapping application for public transportation.
Digital twin platforms offer virtual representations of real-world entities or spaces and are essential in building smart cities. They support public digital services such as urban planning and monitoring and can be instrumental in predicting natural disasters. In 2023, Naver secured a contract with the Saudi government to develop digital twin platforms for Riyadh and four additional cities.