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On May 24th, at Hyundai Motor Group’s Namyang Research Center in Hwaseong, a Hyundai autonomous vehicle caught attention with its two large screens installed inside the car. The surrounding scenery detected by high-performance cameras and LiDAR was being depicted in real-time detail. As the person sitting in the driver’s seat set the destination and pressed the start button, the steering wheel tilted to the left on its own, and the vehicle began to move forward smoothly. About 10 minutes into the ride, the steering wheel movement became so natural that it was hardly consciously noted.
South Korea is challenging the global autonomous driving industry. It’s not just Hyundai. Hyundai Motor Group, Samsung Electronics, KT, Kakao, and others have joined hands. This is to confront global market players armed with IT technology such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and NVIDIA. It’s a determined effort to break through the fierce competition with global big tech companies and bring forth the “K-Autonomous Driving Avengers” that will once again propel the Korean economy. Young Korean startups, recognized globally for their technological prowess, are also entering this arena.
◇ Emergence of ‘K-Autonomous Driving Avengers’ including Hyundai, Samsung, KT, and Kakao
In 2020, Hyundai Motor Group partnered with Aptiv, one of the leading autonomous driving companies in the United States, to invest approximately ￦2 trillion in establishing the autonomous vehicle company “Motional.” They also acquired “FortwoDot,” an autonomous vehicle company founded by former Naver employees, in 2022. From initial investments to the present, Hyundai has invested more than ￦1.4 trillion in total (US$1=￦1320). To catch up with the rapid pace of autonomous driving technology competition, they realized that “time spent on technology development is valuable” and pursued a “technology company M&A” approach.
Not stopping there, Hyundai Motor Group has also initiated collaborations with leading domestic companies in various fields such as Samsung Electronics, KT, and Kakao. This collaboration aims to establish an unshakable supply chain through cooperation with Korean companies in terms of components and technology. This strategy also reflects the understanding that a strong partnership with Korean companies in terms of components and technology is necessary to build a resilient supply chain, in order to effectively address the challenges of the highly competitive future automotive industry landscape.
Earlier this month, Samsung Electronics jointly invested in a Canadian AI semiconductor startup called TensTorrent. This strategic investment was made to secure high-performance semiconductor technology, a crucial component for autonomous driving. With KT, they engaged in a stake exchange last year, aiming to develop the 6th generation mobile communication (6G) technology that enables autonomous vehicles to exchange various information in real-time with other vehicles and urban traffic networks. Additionally, Kakao collaborated with Hyundai Motor Group to jointly develop autonomous driving services in the Gangnam district of Seoul.
Within the long-standing collaborative network of Hyundai Motor Group, LG Group is also playing a significant role. LG Electronics is actively developing cameras for autonomous vehicles equipped with object recognition functions, while LG Innotek is working on 5G-based communication modules for autonomous driving vehicles. Moreover, in late 2021, Hyundai Motor Group established a new autonomous driving subsidiary called HL Klemove to focus on technology development. HL Group (formerly known as the Hanla Group) is another key partner in these efforts.
◇Surpassing Tesla and Breaking Through BMW: Korean Startups in the Autonomous Driving Arena
As K-Avengers take on the global autonomous driving car market head-on, young autonomous driving startups in Korea are making their presence felt with their unique technological capabilities.
This was evident during a visit to StradVision, an autonomous driving startup located in Dongtan, Gyeonggi Province, on the 25th of last month. Instead of expensive LiDAR sensors costing millions of won per unit, this company specializes in developing advanced software (SW) that uses affordable cameras to recognize surrounding objects in real-time. When riding in a car equipped with their SW, it was evident that the machine learning technology integrated into just 10 cameras could detect road situations up to 160 meters ahead. Founded in 2014, the company has received a total investment of ￦155.8 billion so far from German parts company ZF, Hyundai Motor Group, LG Electronics, and others. Already, the SW developed by this company has been integrated into a million cars from 12 global automakers, which are now driving on the roads.
In just five years since its founding in March, the startup Autonomous a2z has climbed to 13th place in the autonomous driving technology evaluation rankings released by the global market research firm Guidehouse, behind Mobileye, Waymo, Cruise, and NVIDIA. The company, which combines sensors and software (SW) to create complete autonomous driving systems, has received a higher evaluation than Tesla (ranked 16th) based solely on its technical capabilities.
Founded in 2017, Seoul Robotics has captured the attention of Germany’s luxury car brand BMW. Since the end of last year, BMW has been using this company’s autonomous driving system to move cars from one of its key factories, the Dingolfing plant in Germany, out of the factory. This involves the cars automatically navigating based on information collected from more than 150 LiDAR sensors installed throughout the factory.
Lee Byeong-chun, Head of the Autonomous Driving Development Division at Hyundai Motor Group, stated, “While electric cars are the focus now, the next step is undoubtedly the competition in autonomous driving according to the global automotive industry’s perspective.” He added, “Since autonomous driving involves a significant infusion of IT technology that requires substantial technical expertise in a short period for automakers, broad cross-border and cross-corporate collaboration is essential.”
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