Hyundai Motor Group is enhancing its collaboration with the innovation ecosystem in San Francisco, USA, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI). The company has also announced its long-term plan, the 'Physical AI Vision,' which aims to achieve integrated intelligence at the city level through the intelligence of individual devices such as automobiles and robots, as well as specific spaces.
According to industry sources on July 26, the San Francisco Bay Area, home to Silicon Valley, is a global innovation hub where leading tech companies, startups, research institutions, and universities are interconnected. This region is where Hyundai Motor Group is actively pursuing industry-academic-research collaborations for its transition to Physical AI. The group is exploring future technologies and strengthening its research and development capabilities while engaging in various collaborations that encompass talent, culture, and academia.
On July 24, during the 'San Francisco AI Summit,' Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung unveiled the Physical AI vision, which outlines the company's evolution from an automobile manufacturer to a platform company that transforms lifestyles. The vision extends beyond the intelligence of individual devices like cars and robots to the intelligence of specific spaces, ultimately aiming for integrated intelligence at the city level. The plan is to design urban infrastructure that creates new value as mobility, work, and living spaces change in the AI era.
To accelerate the implementation of Physical AI, Hyundai Motor Group plans to combine its strengths in manufacturing, mobility, and robotics with the software, AI infrastructure, and algorithm capabilities of major U.S. tech companies. Specifically, the group aims to strengthen strategic collaborations with global tech giants such as NVIDIA, Waymo, and Google DeepMind.
Hyundai Motor Group also announced plans to establish a 'robot reference platform' that integrates NVIDIA's Physical AI technology and to invest in the Saemangeum AI Valley, aiming to enable a new leap for the domestic industry and technology ecosystem based on innovation in robotics and AI.
Since establishing 'Hyundai Ventures' as a global open innovation hub in Silicon Valley in 2011 and rebranding it as 'Hyundai Cradle' in 2017, the group has been identifying promising startups in future technology fields such as AI, autonomous driving, robotics, smart cities, and eco-friendly energy, linking them to its business areas to secure future growth engines.
Recently, the group has strengthened its research and development capabilities in future mobility by establishing a new organization under the AVP headquarters in Silicon Valley.
The newly established AVP Silicon Valley will be led by Jeremy Ma, who has a distinguished background in autonomous driving, robotics, vision, and systems integration from his experience at NASA, Apple, Toyota Research Institute (TRI), and NVIDIA. He will be responsible for integrating technologies in autonomous driving, robotics, and AI.
In September, Hyundai Motor Group will host the 'HMG Tech Talent Forum' in Silicon Valley. This event will invite top talents in key technology fields such as AI, software, robotics, and future mobility to introduce the group's future vision and technological innovations, providing opportunities for direct interaction with key leaders and research and development personnel.
Participants will have the chance to directly observe Hyundai Motor Group's future strategies and technological competitiveness while exploring the direction of future industries and potential collaborations with the group's core leaders. The forum will also feature the group's first integrated recruitment program.
Hyundai Motor Group is expanding its collaboration with the innovation ecosystem in San Francisco in the fields of culture and science. In April, the group established a strategic partnership with the Exploratorium, a world-renowned interactive science museum representing San Francisco, to promote a culture of inquiry based on fundamental science. Through this partnership, Hyundai Motor Group plans to create an interactive science museum at its Global Business Complex (GBC) by 2032.
Through its ongoing innovation efforts in San Francisco, Hyundai Motor Group aims to actively prepare for the new industrial paradigm of Physical AI. The recently unveiled Physical AI vision reflects the group's commitment to connecting technology with people, objects, mobility, and daily life, supporting a new future for human life.
A company official stated, "We will expand the realm of future mobility through innovations that integrate autonomous driving, robotics, AI, and software, and contribute to humanity and future society as a leading company in the Physical AI era based on collaboration with the global innovation ecosystem."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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