Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visits Hyundai's 'robot proving ground' for physical AI talks

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung on June 8 in Seoul, continuing discussions on the integration of artificial intelligence into real-world industrial applications.

The two leaders, who had a private dinner the previous day, convened at Hyundai's headquarters in Yangjae. Their meeting is expected to focus on "physical AI," a concept that merges AI with physical systems for applications such as autonomous driving, robotics, and smart factories.

Huang toured Hyundai's Yangjae campus, which has recently been renovated to serve as a "physical AI" proving ground. The space now features robots for tasks like plant care, beverage delivery, and security, alongside employee rest and meeting areas. Chairman Chung has emphasized the facility's role in rigorously testing these technologies internally before they are offered to external clients.

Hyundai Motor Group and Nvidia have been collaborating since 2015, expanding their partnership beyond infotainment systems in vehicles to encompass software-defined vehicles (SDVs), autonomous driving, smart factories, and robotics. In January, they formalized a strategic partnership to apply Nvidia's accelerated computing and generative AI technologies across these domains.

Last October, the companies announced plans to build an "AI Factory" utilizing 50,000 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs. This infrastructure aims to facilitate the training, verification, and deployment of AI models for in-car AI, autonomous driving, smart factories, and robotics. The collaboration also extends to establishing physical AI infrastructure within South Korea, involving a joint investment of approximately $3 billion to create Nvidia AI technology centers and Hyundai's physical AI application centers.

Discussions are also anticipated to cover advancements in autonomous driving, with Hyundai planning to integrate Level 2+ autonomous driving technology into some vehicle models using Nvidia's DRIVE Hyperion platform combined with its own SDV architecture. The group also aims to internalize its autonomous driving AI capabilities, leveraging Nvidia's AI infrastructure to enhance its software expertise.

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We plan to utilize it extensively because we need to thoroughly verify it internally before releasing it to other customers.