[Interview] K-Robot Chosen by Jensen Huang... Newbility "99% of Robot and AI Companies Will Disappear"

Interview with Robot Startup Newbility
Participation in NVIDIA's Global Startup Support Program
"Advancing Robot Intelligence with Real-World Data"
Competing in 'Robot Intelligence', Developing Robots Equipped with Robotic Arms

At Computex 2024 last year, a robot that made a lap appeared on stage during the latter part of Jensen Huang, NVIDIA's CEO, keynote speech. This robot, with round eyes and a cute face, blinked its eyes and roamed freely across the stage. Introduced by CEO Huang as the "next wave of artificial intelligence (AI)," this robot is 'Newbie,' created by the Korean startup Newbility. Lee Sang-min, CEO of Newbility, said it was the result of continuous technical feedback exchanges with NVIDIA. He described the recently spotlighted humanoid robot market as a Warring States period, predicting that only companies with on-site data will survive.

In June last year at 'Computex 2024' held in Taiwan, Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, introduced Newbility's autonomous driving robot 'Newby'. Provided by Newbility

In a recent interview with Asia Economy, CEO Lee said, "After CEO Huang's announcement, we received a lot of attention from consumers and clients," but added, "Now is the time to prove our capabilities." Newbility joined NVIDIA's global startup growth support program, Inception, in 2021. Since then, it has demonstrated its technological prowess by applying NVIDIA's GPU-based computing and autonomous driving technologies to its robots over several years. Securing a steady technical feedback channel with NVIDIA was decisive.

Regarding the humanoid robot market gaining attention alongside the AI boom, he stated, "It is currently a Warring States period," and asserted, "99% of the companies that have emerged will disappear." CEO Lee forecasts that although many companies have appeared, a moment of consolidation will inevitably come. Therefore, he emphasized the need to consider long-term strategies to survive the global AI competition rather than temporary interest.

CEO Lee said that to advance 'Physical AI,' which combines robots and AI, real-world data must support it. He stressed, "Training robots in virtual reality is important, but data collected from actual environments is more necessary." He explained that virtual training alone cannot cover all the complex variables of reality.

Lee Sang-min, CEO of Newbility, is being interviewed by Asia Economy at his office in Seongdong-gu, Seoul on the 15th. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

For domestic robot startups to collaborate with global big tech companies and create revenue models, 'proprietary data' and 'on-site verification basis' are key. This means that beyond simply developing technology, strategic positioning regarding what role they can play within the big tech ecosystem is necessary. Companies like Newbility, which implement functions linked to NVIDIA's core technologies or secure reproducible verification data in real environments, have a higher chance of entering the supply chains of global corporations.

Newbility gained attention as the first domestic company to commercialize delivery robots. This year, it has officially started developing next-generation robots equipped with robotic arms. The plan is to create a prototype by early next year that can perform various tasks beyond simply moving between specific locations, such as pressing elevator buttons or opening doors. He said, "Just as a person uses different force depending on whether they hold glass or a paper cup, robots must also be capable of such recognition and judgment," adding, "The foundation for that ultimately lies in data."

Lee Sang-min, CEO of Newbility, is being interviewed by Asia Economy at his office in Seongdong-gu, Seoul on the 15th. Photo by Jo Yong-jun