SEOUL, January 26 (AJP) - Korean Air has made a strategic investment in drone specialist Pablo Air, aiming to secure core unmanned-aircraft technologies and expand its presence beyond its traditional aviation business.
The two companies signed a strategic equity investment agreement on Jan. 23 at Korean Air’s Seosomun office in central Seoul, according to Korean Air, Monday.
Pablo Air specializes in swarm artificial intelligence technology, which allows multiple drones to operate as a coordinated group, similar to birds flying in formation.
Pablo Air has demonstrated its technological competitiveness by becoming the first company in South Korea to reach Stage 4 of a five-stage “swarm coordination” technology framework, according to Korean Air.
Korean Air said the deal forms part of its mid- to long-term growth strategy in aerospace, which it has identified as a key future business area. The company plans to apply Pablo Air’s swarm AI autonomous-flight algorithms, integrated control platform, and small- and medium-sized drone development capabilities to its own medium- and large-sized unmanned aircraft, expanding its footprint in the defense sector.
The partnership goes beyond financial backing and is intended to support Pablo Air’s stable growth by combining the infrastructure of a large corporation with the agility of a technology venture, Korean Air said. The two sides plan to conduct joint research and development on swarm flight, explore new business models, and share unmanned-aircraft technologies and business expertise.
“This investment is a strategic choice to secure future competitiveness in a rapidly changing industrial environment and part of our efforts to build a healthy industrial ecosystem,” a Korean Air official said. “We will continue to pursue technological innovation and shared growth by strengthening cooperation with capable small and venture companies.”
Korean Air operates a dedicated unmanned-aircraft business unit and develops drones domestically. It said it has produced multiple systems now in use by the South Korean military and local governments, including medium-altitude surveillance and reconnaissance drones, low-observable unmanned wingmen, division-level reconnaissance drones, multipurpose unmanned helicopters and vertical takeoff-and-landing unmanned aircraft.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
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