Chung Eui-sun, chair of Hyundai Motor Group, presented a blueprint to shift from an automobile manufacturer to a physical artificial intelligence (AI) solutions corporations.
On the 24th (local time) at the San Francisco AI Summit in San Francisco, Chung said, "Hyundai Motor(005380) Group is pushing to transition into a physical AI solutions corporations that goes beyond the boundaries of traditional automobile manufacturing to encompass Autonomous Driving, Robotics, and AI factories."
Hyundai Motor Group will begin by making individual devices such as automobiles and robots intelligent, then promote intelligence in production spaces such as AI factories. Ultimately, it aims to realize city-level integrated intelligence in which the entire urban infrastructure is organically connected and operated.
To advance physical AI, Hyundai Motor will expand cooperation with global big tech companies including Nvidia, Waymo, and Google DeepMind. The company believes that combining its manufacturing competitiveness, mobility and Robotics technologies, and massive data with big tech's AI infrastructure and algorithms can create a new innovation ecosystem for the era of physical AI.
Chung said, "The outcomes of cooperation with big tech must serve as a foundation for the growth of the domestic physical AI industry," adding, "Hyundai Motor Group plans to create an open ecosystem to advance domestic robotics and AI technologies."
With Nvidia, it plans to jointly build a "robot reference platform" that universities, research institutions, and startups can use. The idea is to create an open ecosystem in which domestic research institutions and startups can develop and validate physical AI technologies.
With Waymo, it will strengthen cooperation on producing Autonomous Driving vehicles. Boston Dynamics is accelerating development of next-generation humanoids in collaboration with Google DeepMind. Hyundai Motor plans to establish a robot production system in the United States with an annual capacity of 30,000 units by 2028 and deploy the next-generation electric Atlas to production hubs such as Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia.
Investments in domestic AI infrastructure will also continue. In Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, it is creating the "Saemangeum AI Valley," which includes an AI data center and a robot manufacturing cluster worth about 9 trillion won. In the Yeongnam region, it plans to invest 42 trillion won over the next 10 years to foster an AI-based manufacturing hub and bases for future aviation, space, and energy industries.