Hyundai Motor will spend $424 million to build an artificial intelligence (AI) research center in the US to bolster its robotics technology.
Hyundai Motor, Kia and Hyundai Mobis – Hyundai’s three key auto affiliates — will invest $211.9 million, $127.1 million and $84.7 million, respectively, for the AI center that will be located in Boston.
The AI center, tentatively named the Boston Dynamics AI Institute, will be headed by Marc Raibert, founder and former chief of Boston Dynamics, a U.S. robotics company Hyundai acquired last year, reports Yonhap news agency.
Hyundai Motor, led by Chairman Euisun Chung, has been investing in the development of automotive software and related mobility technologies, including Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs), a concept that the vehicle’s software capability will define the quality of the car and driving.
Hyundai will also establish a software center in South Korea in an effort to accelerate efforts toward an expansion into self-driving, electrification and other advanced auto technologies.
Hyundai recently acquired 42dot, a Seoul-based autonomous driving software and mobility platform startup, for 274.6 billion won ($211 million).
