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Naver Innovation, the South Korean internet giant’s Saudi joint venture, signed a memorandum of understanding with RER, Saudi Arabia’s dedicated real estate registration authority, at LEAP 2026 in Riyadh. The two parties will explore applying AI, smart mapping, and geospatial technologies to real estate and municipal administrative services. The agreement comes immediately after Naver’s Digital Twin platform was approved as a national standard platform for Saudi local governments. On the same day, Naver Innovation also signed a separate MOU with WDDK, a local restaurant reservation platform, to explore developing an integrated service connecting reservations, payments, and ticketing. In July, Naver Innovation commissioned local market research firm DRC for a research contract worth approximately 860 million won (approximately $630,000). Industry observers view these agreements as signals that Naver is concretizing its map-based super app strategy.
Key Elements
Naver has signed a series of local partnerships in Saudi Arabia to expand its business beyond Digital Twin technology into public administration and consumer lifestyle services. The South Korean company is exploring ways to integrate AI and geospatial technologies into administrative services with Saudi Arabia’s dedicated real estate registration authority, while separately examining the possibility of building an integrated service connecting everything from reservations to payments with a local restaurant booking platform.
Naver Innovation, Naver’s Saudi joint venture, announcedandum of understanding (MOU) with RER (Real Estate Registry), the kingdom’s dedicated real estate registration authority, at LEAP 2026, an information technology exhibition held in Riyadh
RER is the agency responsible for registering property rights, including land and buildings, in Saudi Arabia. The two parties will examine ways to leverage AI and digital technologies to improve the efficiency of real estate and urban administrative services. Interconnecting the two organizations’ systems and exchanging data within the scope of relevant regulations is also on the table for discussion.
Naver’s smart mapping and geospatial information technologies are included in the scope of cooperation. The two sides will explore using mapping and geospatial technologies to enhance the accuracy and quality of real estate data, and applying these capabilities to real estate registration and urban administrative services.
The agreement is particularly significant because it comes immediately after Naver’s Digital Twin platform was approved last month as a national standard platform for Saudi local governments. Naver won a contract in 2023 to build Digital Twin platforms for major Saudi cities and has since been replicating local urban spaces in digital environments. If the RER partnership translates into actual business following the national standard platform approval, Naver’s touchpoints for applying urban and geospatial technologies to real estate and local administrative services could expand considerably.
Naver Innovation stated: “This is part of our efforts to accelerate digital transformation and drive innovation across the real estate and municipal sectors. We will strengthen technical integration and pursue data exchange within the bounds of applicable regulatory frameworks, as well as explore applications of digital technology and AI.”
Expansion into Consumer Lifestyle Services
On the same day, Naver Innovation signed a separate MOU with WDDK, a Saudi restaurant reservation platform. The two companies will examine the feasibility of developing an integrated digital service that connects restaurant reservations, payments, ticketing, and discounts in a single flow.
The concept is to interconnect the two companies’ platforms and exchange data to streamline users’ reservation and payment processes. Joint restaurant reservation solutions, digital marketing, customer acquisition programs, combined dining and experience packages, and corporate hospitality programs are also included in the scope of cooperation. The two sides have also left the door open to expanding the business into other Middle Eastern markets and overseas.
Naver Innovation said: “Ultimately, the vision is to digitally connect the various services users need in their daily lives and movements across Saudi Arabia to deliver an integrated hospitality experience. This MOU also leaves open the possibility of expanding the business beyond Saudi Arabia into regional and global markets.”
Industry observers note that the successive agreements have clarified the scope of local services Naver Innovation aims to connect to its map-based super app. Naver has previously announced plans to develop a super app in Saudi Arabia combining maps with AI, reservations, and payments, but had not disclosed which local data and services would be linked. The latest agreements concretely confirm the possibility of connecting public-sector real estate and geospatial data, along with consumer-facing restaurant reservation and payment functions, to the super app.
Local Market Research Underway in Parallel
Naver Innovation is also conducting preliminary work for local service development. According to disclosures filed with the Saudi stock exchange, the company commissioned research services from Digital Research Company (DRC), a local market research and consulting firm, on July 23. The contract period runs through December 31 of this year.
DRC disclosed that the contract value, including value-added tax, exceeds 5% of the company’s 2025 revenue. DRC’s 2025 revenue was 47.29 million riyals. Based on this figure, the contract value is at least 2,364,500 riyals (approximately 860 million won, or roughly $630,000). However, the specific research topics and final contract amount were not disclosed.
Industry observers believe the research contract is likely related to market research aimed at expanding service businesses targeting local users beyond Digital Twin.
Naver Innovation is a joint venture co-founded by Naver Cloud and NHC Innovation, the digital subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned housing company NHC. It is the first operating entity under Naver Arabia, Naver’s Middle East headquarters, with core businesses focused on building and operating a map-based super app and Digital Twin platform.
An industryard platform to successively secure public administration and consumer lifestyle services, it could position itself as a platform operator connecting urban services not only in Saudi Arabia but across the region, moving beyond being a mere technology supplier.”
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