[CES 2026] CEO Munoz: "No Chips, No Cars... Chairman Chung's Qualcomm Visit Has Very Significant Meaning"

After Chung Euisun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, visited Qualcomm immediately following his tour of the Hyundai Motor Group booth at CES 2026, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition, Jose Munoz, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, also praised Qualcomm's semiconductor and robotics technologies. As Hyundai Motor Group continues to focus on physical artificial intelligence (AI) and announces successive collaborations with global leaders such as Nvidia and Google DeepMind, there is growing speculation that the company will accelerate its global partnerships.

On January 6, 2026 (local time), the opening day of CES 2026, Munoz met with reporters at the Qualcomm exhibition hall located in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) in the United States. He emphasized the importance of semiconductor manufacturers, including Qualcomm, stating, "Without chips (semiconductors), there are no cars."

He said, "Qualcomm is one of the leading companies in the semiconductor and software industries and has a very strong supply chain. Having no semiconductors in a car is like having a garden without flowers."

Jose Munoz, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, is speaking at the media briefing of CES 2026, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition, held on the 5th (local time) at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, USA. Hyundai Motor Group

Regarding Chairman Chung's decision to visit Qualcomm immediately after the Hyundai Motor Group booth, Munoz agreed that "this has very significant meaning." As Hyundai Motor Group designates 'AI robotics' as a new growth engine and pours its efforts into developing humanoid robots, there are expectations that global collaboration will continue.

The previous day, Boston Dynamics announced a strategic partnership with Google DeepMind. On the same day, Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Jang Jaehoon said at a media briefing regarding securing competitiveness in physical AI, "Global collaboration seems to be the most important," adding, "We will soon be able to share areas where we can instill confidence in the market together with global companies."

Munoz also mentioned the robotics technologies of both companies. When asked to compare Boston Dynamics' 'Atlas' with Qualcomm's humanoid robot, he replied, "That's a difficult question," but added, "Boston Dynamics' technology might be just a bit better."