Muñoz: "Hyundai Motor Company Is Evolving into a Physical AI Company" as It Seeks Silicon Valley Talent

[Financial News] "Hyundai Motor Company is evolving into a physical AI company that develops robotics, autonomous vehicles and the software that organically connects them." This was the future business direction José Muñoz, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, presented to global technology talent in Silicon Valley. Hyundai Motor Group had senior executives explain its technology strategy and conduct on-site interviews as it sought talent capable of applying artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to real-world products and manufacturing operations.
Hyundai Motor Group said on the 29th that it held the HMG Tech Talent Forum on the 17th and 18th (local time) at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in Silicon Valley, U.S. Held under the theme "Growing Together Beyond Boundaries," the event brought together nine companies, including Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation, their U.S. subsidiaries, Hyundai Motor Group America Technical Center (HATCI), Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA), Boston Dynamics, Motional and 42dot. About 380 people attended, including North American technology talent, invited guests and group employees.
The opening keynote speakers included José Muñoz, Manfred Harrer, president and head of Hyundai Motor Group's R&D Division; Minwoo Park, president and head of Hyundai Motor Group's AVP Division and CEO of 42dot; and Kim Hye-in, executive vice president and head of Hyundai Motor Group's HR Office.
Muñoz explained the strategy for connecting future technologies—including AI, software-defined vehicles (SDVs), robotics and energy—to products and businesses. He said, "Based on our strong core businesses and the scale of Hyundai Motor Group, we aim to realize our future vision together with the world's top technology talent."
Harrer presented plans to increase development speed and efficiency by combining the engineering capabilities accumulated through large-scale vehicle development and mass production with AI and virtual development technologies. He stated, "I believe that adding innovation to engineering grounded in fundamentals is the way to create products that customers can trust," adding, "We will lead the industry by combining decades of engineering experience in real-world environments with the speed of virtual development and AI."
Park introduced a vision for physical AI that continuously learns from data accumulated in real-world environments, including vehicles, factories and robots. He said, "The fact that the most difficult problems still remain to be solved makes this moment even more exciting," adding, "We will build a world-class physical AI organization based on experience accumulated in real-world environments and actual implementation results."
Kim introduced the group's business and research base, which consists of more than 75 affiliates worldwide, over 336,000 employees and R&D centers. She emphasized, "Hyundai Motor Group offers the technological capabilities and ideas to tackle important challenges of the future, the business scale to turn them into real change, and opportunities to grow alongside outstanding colleagues," adding, "We will support global talent so they can do meaningful work, take on greater challenges and grow."
The forum featured technology sessions in six fields: AI, robotics, autonomous driving, smart manufacturing, software and IT, and hydrogen, energy and batteries. On the first day, group leaders and experts explained development directions and challenges. Discussions continued on the second day, focusing on project case studies from each participating company.
The leaders' panel discussion featured Manfred Harrer; Minwoo Park; Kim Chang-hwan, executive vice president in charge of electrification and energy solutions at Hyundai Motor Group; Zachary Jackowski, chief product and technology officer (CPTO) of Boston Dynamics; Phil Michel, head of autonomous driving and AI at Motional; and Alpesh Patel, managing director in charge of SDF initiatives at Hyundai Motor Group. They discussed strategies and challenges involved in applying key technologies such as physical AI to products and manufacturing operations. Participants asked about development environments, large-scale implementation and career opportunities during a live question-and-answer session.
The exhibition area featured Boston Dynamics' quadruped robot Spot, the next-generation mobile robot platform MobED (Mobile Eccentric Droid), the Computing & I/O Domain-based E&E Architecture (CODA) SDV architecture, Motional's Ioniq 5 robotaxi, the Hyundai CRATER concept vehicle and hydrogen fuel-cell systems.
The companies also showcased 16 key technologies and projects, including the next-generation humanoid robot Atlas, thermal runaway prevention technology, autonomous trailer-coupling technology, Atria AI and smart manufacturing solutions.
The forum also included programs designed to turn technology networking into recruitment. It operated HR coffee chats, where recruiters and participants held one-on-one career consultations, and conducted on-site interviews with candidates for the HMG Global Tech Talent Recruitment program that began in April.
A Hyundai Motor Group official said, "We will continue expanding our engagement with key global technology talent and strengthen the technological competitiveness needed to lead the next era of mobility."
[email protected] Kim Dong-ho Reporter