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An outline for the network of Hyundai Motor Group’s global “open innovation center.” (provided by Hyundai Motor Group)
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Hyundai Motor Group affiliate opens M Cube innovation center in Silicon Valley
The Hyundai Motor Group’s mainstay affiliates are rapidly increasing their investment in startups possessing innovative technology. Activities by major affiliates are more measured than ever before amid criticisms that the group has been focused too much on quantitative growth while neglecting new technology and future automobile development. Hyundai Mobis announced on Nov. 4 that it is launching a full-scale effort to locate and invest in startups with new future automobile technology following the recent opening of its M Cube open innovation center in the US Silicon Valley. Its initial goal is to locate and invest in around 100 promising startups by next year. Open innovation is an open form of management strategy in which outside technology from universities, research institutes, and promising startups is applied by businesses in their innovation technology R&D process. Hyundai Mobis plans to use M Cube as a key base to locate and invest in promising startups in the areas of self-driving vehicles (sensors, logic, and software platforms), connectivity (infotainment and biometrics), and new business innovation (AI and vehicle security). For this effort, it has enlisted Sean Ryu, an entrepreneur with over 20 years of local experience in startup investment, to serve as the center’s director. The company also plans to expand its research branch in Shenzhen, China, into an open innovation center next year with the addition of investment functions. Additionally, Hyundai Mobis plans to use M Cube in a collaborative effort with Hyundai Cradle – Hyundai Motor’s innovation technology development base – to locate and invest in around a dozen promising global startups by next year. Under this system, Hyundai Cradle is to focus on convergence between finished automobiles and future automobile technologies like mobility services and smart city technology, while M Cube focuses on investing in startups with technology for elements such as self-driving and connectivity. The strategy involves boosting investment efficiency by establishing a value chain connecting element technology to automobile parts, finished automobiles, and future automobile services. “We’re planning to increase support so that creative ideas by startups connect with future automobile technology development, including areas like self-driving and connectivity,” said Jeong Su-gyeong, director of Hyundai Mobis’s planning office. The Hyundai Motor Group previously announced that it was developing open innovation centers in Beijing and Berlin to join existing ones in the US, South Korea, and Israel. Global network management is supervised by the group’s strategic technology headquarters. Hyundai Motor has been investing in startups since last year through an “AI alliance fund” established with SK Telecom and Hanwha Asset Management. In June, it joined up with Deep Glint, a Chinese startup applying vision technology. “We plan to provide an R&D base to startups with innovative technology, incorporating future automobile technology through various innovation experiments with them,” a Hyundai Group official said. By Hong Dae-seon, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
