[CES 2024] Hyundai Motor's 'Zero1 Startup' 11 Companies Officially Debut

Hyundai Motor Group Open Innovation Platform Zero1
Participates in CES for the 2nd Year
Supports Overseas Expansion of Outstanding Startups
4 of 11 Participating Companies Win Innovation Awards

# Startup Mobinn's autonomous robot climbs stairs without hesitation. One might wonder how a wheeled robot can climb stairs, but Mobinn found a way. They use flexible rubber wheels. Mobinn's delivery robot can freely move over high stairs, sloped sidewalks, and road curbs thanks to special rubber wheels made of a flexible yet durable material. They also applied technology to prevent the cargo inside the compartment from tilting when climbing slopes. CEO Choi Jin of Mobinn said, "According to Seoul city standards, there are 19 obstacles per kilometer for mobility devices. Our robot's strength lies in overcoming obstacles with just wheels and having a simple structure, which lowers initial costs."

# Green Whale Global, which produces biodegradable plastic raw materials and products, won an Innovation Award at CES 2024. They created eco-friendly plastic using cassava starch, the raw material of tapioca. While typical plastics do not decompose, their biodegradable plastic completely breaks down naturally and can be recycled and reused. The biodegradable plastic products displayed at the CES booth looked no different from regular plastics to the naked eye. However, from an environmental perspective, these products are entirely different from conventional plastics. CEO Yoon Tae-kyun of Green Whale Global said, "Our products can respond to strengthened global environmental standards and can fully return to nature about six weeks after landfill."

Yoon Tae-kyun, CEO of Green Whale Global, is introducing the company at CES 2024 Eureka Park held in Las Vegas, USA, on the 10th (local time).
[Photo by Woo Su-yeon]

Hyundai Motor Group's open innovation platform Zero1 is participating in CES 2024 in Las Vegas, USA, for the second consecutive year starting from the 9th (local time). This is to showcase the innovative technologies of domestic startups that have grown with Zero1's support on the global stage.

The reason Zero1 is participating in CES this year is to introduce Hyundai Motor Group's open innovation activities and support the global expansion of startups they collaborate with. The startups participating in this CES can gain various experiences such as securing global networks and creating investment opportunities.

A total of 11 startups supported by Zero1 are participating in CES this year. Four startups nurtured through the in-house startup incubation program 'Zero1 Builder,' five startups participating through the external startup discovery program 'Zero1 Accelerator,' and the remaining two companies supported through 'H-OnDream Startup Ground,' a joint investment initiative by Hyundai Motor Group and the Chung Mong-Koo Foundation for promising startups.

Hyundai Motor Group Zero1 invests in employees with creative ideas through its in-house startup incubation program. So far, a total of 36 in-house startups have spun off independently. Additionally, through programs that find and support promising external startups, they have collaborated with 128 startups, and 97 of these have received direct equity investments.

Choi Sung-jin, CEO of Poen, is introducing the company at the CES 2024 Eureka Park held in Las Vegas, USA, on the 10th (local time).
[Photo by Woo Su-yeon]

Looking at the startups participating in CES this year, the fields vary from last-mile mobility companies to biodegradable plastic manufacturers. Applause provides a service that recommends music suitable for the place and time based on artificial intelligence (AI). DataMond operates a data platform that collects customer preferences and tastes and processes big data using AI. Poen developed a solution to reuse waste battery packs generated from accidents or scrapped vehicles.

Artwa developed a multipurpose amphibious robot. DeepFine offers extended reality (XR) production tools, enabling the general public to easily and quickly create XR spaces that were previously only possible for experts. Pebblus provides a data clinic service that diagnoses and improves AI training data, and Coop Technologies offers insurance technology solutions focused on the robotics and automation ecosystem. The Day One Lab develops alternative materials using biomass such as starch and cellulose. Cosmos Lab developed a 'water battery' that uses water as an electrolyte.

A Zero1 official said, "We have focused on discovering startups with excellent capabilities so far," adding, "We hope that participating in CES will help startups nurtured by Zero1 expand into overseas markets."