Hyundai Mobis held an investment briefing for startups in North America and is seeking to secure alliances in future mobility technology.
On the 9th of November, local time in the U.S., Hyundai Mobis held the '4th Mobiis Mobility Day' in Detroit, the heart of the automotive industry. Mobiis Mobility Day is a venue for Hyundai Mobis to introduce its business vision and investment status to global startups, automotive manufacturers, academia, and investors.
Detroit is emerging as a hub for startups, boasting many mobility newcomer companies equipped with production and quality management based on the automotive manufacturing sector, as well as artificial intelligence and software. Based on this regional characteristic, the event included many presentation sessions by promising local startups invited by Hyundai Mobis. There were also in-depth discussions on mobility trends focused on robotics and clean tech.
The decision by Hyundai Mobis to hold the event in Detroit this year comes as a significant number of recent global orders have been concentrated from North American clients. It also reflects the ease of promoting products to clients in the future by expanding investment and collaboration with promising local startups.
Hyundai Mobis introduced technologies such as SDV, electrification, and electronic innovation under the theme 'Mobiis in Global' this year, presenting its business vision along with the results of open innovation and investment strategies. More than 200 attendees, including local North American clients and stakeholders from the startup industry, participated. Employees from the Hyundai Mobis North America Research Institute conducted presentations, adding vibrancy and professionalism.
Mitchell Yun, the investment manager of Mobiis Ventures Silicon Valley (MVSV), which organized the event, noted, "It is becoming increasingly important to discover outstanding global startups and make strategic investments to secure innovative technologies that will lead the transformation of the mobility paradigm," and stated, "This year, we will expand support for business demonstrations such as technology and business feasibility reviews and strengthen collaborations for market preemption."
Since opening its open innovation base in Silicon Valley in 2018, Hyundai Mobis has invested more than 200 billion won in global startups by last year. Last year, it made a new investment of $15 million in U.S. semiconductor company Elevation Microsystems, and in 2020, it invested in British company Envisics to collaborate on augmented reality-based head-up display (AR-HUD) technology. It is also continuously collaborating with promising companies in key areas of future mobility technology, including high-performance imaging radar developer Zendar, artificial intelligence-based semiconductor lidar company LightIC, and software platform specialist Sonatus.
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