Hyundai Motor, Kia partner with DeepX to develop robotics services

South Korean carmakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. have partnered with DeepX, a domestic startup that specializes in designing AI semiconductors optimized for AI model inference, to develop robotics services.

The agreement was signed on Friday at the Uiwang Research Center in Gyeonggi Province, and the signing ceremony was attended by Hyun Dong-jin, head of the Robotics Lab, and Kim Nok-won, CEO of DeepX.

DeepX is reported to have the highest level of technology related to neural network processing unit (NPU), an AI-specialized semiconductor optimized for operations such as deep learning, which is expected to be a key component in the robotics field powered by batteries due to its superior power efficiency and price competitiveness compared to the graphics processing unit (GPU).

Under the agreement, Hyundai Motor and Kia's Robotics Lab will support software technology such as AI models and learning datasets, while DeepX will provide semiconductor engineering samples and hardware interfaces for robot loading.

"By combining the software technology of the Robotics Lab with the hardware technology of DeepX, AI services based on superior robotics performance and price can be further developed," Hyun Dong-jin said.

Hyundai Motor and Kia have been continuously developing services combining robotics and AI technology, such as the service robot "DAL-e," which was unveiled in 2021. The latest collaboration with DeepX is another step toward achieving their goal of developing cutting-edge robotics services using advanced AI semiconductors.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com