Morai
Seoul, KR · Founded 2018 · 71 employees on LinkedIn · 6 known investors
MORAI builds a digital twin simulation platform for developing, validating, and certifying ADAS and autonomous systems, enabling engineering teams to generate reproducible, regulator-aligned validation evidence. It serves automotive and defense organizations, with a phased rollout across Korea, EMEA, and global markets.
Also known as MORAI · MORAI Inc.
Founders & leadership
Morai was founded in 2018 by Jiwon Jung.
Investors · 6
Also in the syndicate · 4
Company profile
researched Aug 2026MORAI Inc. is a South Korean developer of digital twin simulation software used to develop, test and validate autonomous systems. Its core product, MORAI SIM, provides high-fidelity virtual environments built from HD map data and a physics engine, together with configurable sensor models (camera, LiDAR, GPS, radar and IMU), vehicle and ship dynamics, and scenario-based testing. Scenarios can be generated from real-world log data, extended to edge cases and run in loops, allowing high-risk situations such as pedestrian collision risks to be repeated many times. A cloud simulation option allows multiple simulations to be run concurrently and in parallel.
The platform is organized into vertical product lines addressing autonomous driving (Drive), next-generation aviation and urban air mobility (Air), autonomous mobile robots (Robotics), 3D traffic monitoring (Traffic) and maritime autonomous surface ships, the latter with marine environment modelling for sea states, weather, tides and visibility, ship models from small boats to cargo vessels, a GUI for scenario authoring and JSON scenario scripts. Company and industry-body material describes MORAI as the first and only Korean company to have independently developed a full-stack autonomous driving simulation solution, including the core simulation engine, and highlights automated conversion of HD map data into large-scale digital twin environments. MORAI SIM supports the ASAM OpenSCENARIO standard, and MORAI is listed as an ASAM member in the tool vendor/service provider category.
Founding story
MORAI's co-founders met while conducting autonomous driving research at KAIST, where they tested self-driving algorithms on real roads and race tracks. CEO and co-founder Jiwon Jung has said the scarcity of digital twin and virtual testing options made those tests dangerous and expensive, prompting the team to build their own simulation product; CTO and co-founder Jun Hong recounted a high-speed track test that convinced him algorithms should be systematically validated in simulation before field testing. Jung brought together colleagues from KAIST to build an autonomous vehicle driving simulator, and press coverage identifies three co-founders — Jiwon Jung, Jun Hong and Sugwan Lee — who established the company in 2018.
Business model
MORAI licenses and sells simulation software to organizations developing autonomous systems, offering both installed products and a cloud/SaaS delivery model (MORAI SIM Cloud) in which customers run simulations without installing software locally. Revenue comes from corporate clients in automotive and mobility as well as research institutes and universities, and the company works through partnerships with technology vendors including NVIDIA, Ansys, AWS and dSPACE.
Software sales to enterprises, research organizations and universities, including a cloud/SaaS-delivered version of MORAI SIM. Reported revenue was $1.7 million in 2021, described as a 226% compound annual growth rate from 2018 to 2021.
Traction
MORAI reported serving more than 100 customers at the time of its February 2022 Series B and over 120 clients in its later ASAM profile, spanning Hyundai group companies, Samsung affiliates, Naver Labs, 42dot and Korean research institutes and universities. Revenue was $1.7 million in 2021. Headcount was 84 employees in early 2022, with plans to double worldwide within that year, and over 80% of staff are described as R&D. MORAI SIM had replicated more than 20 cities globally as of early 2022.
Latest developments
Recent company news items report the launch of a new generation of the MORAI digital twin simulation platform, an MOU with Siemens to collaborate on autonomous driving simulation, and an alignment of MORAI's strategic roadmap toward growing demand in defense and dual-use markets. Current company profiles cite over 120 clients and note that more than 80% of the workforce is dedicated to R&D.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
MORAI describes itself, and is described by the ASAM member directory, as a leading provider of autonomous simulation platforms and the first and only company in Korea to independently develop a full-stack autonomous driving simulation solution; press coverage at the time of its Series B called it South Korea's sole provider of full-stack autonomous vehicle simulation solutions. Its customer list includes major Korean industrial groups and national research institutes, and it is backed by strategic investors including Naver, Hyundai Motor Group and the Korea Development Bank.
MORAI positions its differentiation on full-stack ownership of the simulation stack, including the core simulation engine, described as the first and only such independently developed solution from a Korean company, and on technology that automatically converts HD map data into digital twins to create large-scale simulation environments. Additional stated differentiators include coverage of multiple autonomy domains (road vehicles, aerial vehicles, robots, ships and unmanned ground vehicles) within one platform, replication of more than 20 cities in MORAI SIM, cloud-based parallel simulation, and support for the ASAM OpenSCENARIO standard.
Technology
MORAI SIM combines HD map-based 3D environments with a physics engine to produce digital twin test environments, with automated conversion of HD map data into large-scale simulated worlds. It includes configurable sensor models (camera, LiDAR, radar, GPS, IMU), vehicle and ship dynamics, log-based and edge-case scenario generation with loop testing, and a GUI plus JSON script files for authoring scenarios in the maritime simulator. A cloud deployment supports concurrent, parallel simulation runs without local installation or hardware constraints. The platform supports the ASAM OpenSCENARIO standard.
Go-to-market
MORAI sells directly to enterprise and institutional customers, offering demo requests through its website, and supplements direct sales with strategic partnerships with global technology vendors such as AWS, NVIDIA, Ansys and dSPACE. It participates in industry venues including CES, where it unveiled its cloud simulation product, and is a member of the ASAM standards organization, which lists MORAI SIM in its product directory.
Autonomous vehicle developers and automotive OEMs and suppliers, urban air mobility and unmanned aerial system developers, robotics and autonomous ship developers, defense and dual-use organizations, plus government research institutes and universities. Named clients include Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai AutoEver, Samsung Electronics, Samsung Heavy Industries, Samsung Engineering, Naver Labs, 42dot, KAIST, the Korea Automobile Testing & Research Institute, the Korea Automotive Technology Institute and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority.
Geography
MORAI is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea (V-PLEX, 501 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu) and lists a German office at Parkring 49, Garching bei München. It opened a U.S. office in San Francisco in 2021 and, at the time of its Series B, stated plans to add offices in Germany, Japan and Singapore. Its customer base is concentrated in Korea with stated ambitions for global expansion.
History
The company was founded in March 2018 by researchers from KAIST's autonomous driving lab. It raised seed and Series A capital from investors including Naver's D2 Startup Factory, Hyundai Motor Group's ZERO1NE, Kakao Ventures, Atinum Investment and the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, and in February 2022 announced a USD 20 million Series B led by Korea Investment Partners with KB Investment and the Korea Development Bank, taking total funding to USD 25 million. In 2021 it opened a U.S. office in San Francisco, and at CES 2022 it introduced a cloud-based version of MORAI SIM. It later established a German office in Garching bei München, joined ASAM as a tool vendor, signed an MOU with Siemens on autonomous driving simulation, launched a new generation of its digital twin simulation platform, and stated a roadmap oriented toward defense and dual-use markets.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 6
launches, deals, and filingsCompany news item stating MORAI aligned its strategic roadmap to address growing demand in defense and dual-use markets.
Company news item announcing an MOU with Siemens to collaborate on autonomous driving simulation.
Company news item announcing the launch of a new generation of MORAI's digital twin simulation platform.
MORAI announced a USD 20 million Series B round, stating total funding to date of USD 25 million and plans to hire talent and expand internationally.
$20M source ↗
At CES 2022 MORAI unveiled a cloud-based (SaaS) version of MORAI SIM that lets users run simulation tests in the cloud without local software installation and build many simulation environments without hardware restrictions.
MORAI established its U.S. office in San Francisco, with stated plans to open further offices in Germany, Japan and Singapore.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Moraimorai.ai · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Morai do?
- Korean developer of MORAI SIM, a digital twin simulation platform for testing and validating autonomous vehicles, aircraft, robots and ships.
- Who founded Morai?
- Morai was founded by Jiwon Jung in 2018.
- Who are Morai's investors?
- Morai's investors include Atinum Investment Co. Ltd., Kakao Ventures.
- Where is Morai headquartered?
- Morai is headquartered in Seoul, KR.