KDDI announced on November 6 that it has formed a capital alliance with newmo, a Tokyo-based startup operating taxi services and developing autonomous driving technology, by subscribing to a third-party allotment of new shares; the investment amount and stake were not disclosed. KDDI, newmo, and KDDI subsidiary KDDI Smart Mobility also signed a business alliance the same day aimed at solving regional transportation challenges, with a goal of launching commercial operation of autonomous taxis in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, in 2028. In the initial phase, the companies envision a safety driver in the driver's seat. newmo will operate the taxi and autonomous taxi businesses and provide autonomous driving technology, a ride-hailing app, fleet management systems, driving data collection, and autonomous driving AI development. KDDI will supply communications lines, AI computing infrastructure, remote monitoring, and high-precision positioning, and is considering a platform to aggregate AI training data. KDDI Smart Mobility will contribute remote monitoring and operational support expertise. The three companies are also considering selling dispatch, fleet management, and remote monitoring functions cultivated in Sakai City to transportation operators nationwide. KDDI and KDDI Smart Mobility participate in the Sakai City Autonomous Taxi Implementation Consortium, for which newmo serves as secretariat, and newmo already uses KDDI's computing infrastructure to train its autonomous driving AI models.