Hyundai Motor and Kia Collaborate with DeepX to Integrate AI Semiconductors for Robot Platforms

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia are joining hands with an AI semiconductor specialist company to develop cutting-edge robotics services.

On the 24th, Hyundai Motor and Kia announced that they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the installation of AI semiconductors for robot platforms at the Uiwang Research Center, with executives including Hyun Dong-jin, Executive Director of the Robotics Lab, and Kim Nok-won, CEO of DeepX, in attendance.

This agreement aims to promote technical cooperation to apply DeepX's AI semiconductor technology to Hyundai Motor and Kia's advanced robot platforms. DeepX is a domestic startup specializing in designing AI semiconductors. It possesses top-level technology for neural processing units (NPU) optimized for AI model inference.

An NPU is an AI-specialized semiconductor optimized for computations in artificial neural networks such as deep learning. Compared to graphics processing units (GPU), which have been widely used in AI, NPUs offer superior power efficiency and cost competitiveness. They are expected to become key components in the robotics field, which is mainly powered by batteries.

Hyundai Motor and Kia have been continuously developing services that combine robotics and AI technologies, such as unveiling the service robot DAL-e in 2021. Equipping robots, which need to simultaneously implement various functions like autonomous driving, facial recognition, and real-time voice conversation, with NPUs specialized for AI computation will enable the development of robotics that deliver more efficient and diverse service experiences.

For this collaboration, Hyundai Motor and Kia's Robotics Lab will support software technologies such as AI models and training datasets, while DeepX plans to provide semiconductor engineering samples and hardware interfaces for robot installation. Hyundai Motor and Kia will verify the NPUs designed by DeepX and explore future utilization possibilities.

Hyun Dong-jin, Executive Director and Head of Robotics Lab at Hyundai Motor Company?Kia (left), and Kim Nok-won, CEO of DeepX, posing for a commemorative photo. Photo by Hyundai Motor Group

Hyun Dong-jin, Executive Director of Hyundai Motor and Kia Robotics Lab, said, “Combining the Robotics Lab’s software technology with DeepX’s hardware technology will lead the development of robotics-based AI services that excel in performance and cost.” He added, “After confirming and reviewing the excellence of the NPUs designed by DeepX, we plan to utilize them in robots currently under research and development at the Robotics Lab.”

Kim Nok-won, CEO of DeepX, stated, “We are pleased to have the opportunity to demonstrate the mass production capability of DeepX’s AI semiconductors,” and added, “We will continue to cooperate to build an important foundation for leading the future robotics market.”