- ZERO1NE Company Builder, a program of HMG, supports startups internally to become independent entities
- According to the Korea Economic Daily, 4 projects have just achieved this status
- Otherwise, Hyundai has also just launched a call for new projects
Through its ZERO1NE Company Builder program, Hyundai Motor Group finances projects. And recently, according to the Korea Economic Daily, the group gave birth to 4 new startups, which are becoming independent entities. These startups are MOBINN, APLAYZ, SURFF and CaREDIT.
MOBINN is developing an autonomous robot that can ensure the last part of the delivery of a good. According to the Korean media, to deliver the packages, he uses LiDAR sensors and cameras, and can even climb the steps. As for APLAYZ, it is a music suggestion application, which takes into account the user’s environment, such as the weather. SURFF, for its part, offers a logistics platform that makes it possible to find freight space. And CaREDIT predicts the life of auto parts by taking into account maintenance histories.
Hyundai is all about startups
HMG’s program, which owns the Hyundai and Kia brands, was launched in 2000 as Venture Plaza. Then it was renamed ZERO1NE Company Builder in 2021. The program has already supported 76 projects, including 30 that have become independent startups. According to Korea Economic Daily, when a project joins this internal incubator, it can receive funding of up to $227,152 to develop and market its product.
Moreover, in February, the group launched a new call for projects for its startup accelerator, specifying that the selected startups receive a development budget, and can be evaluated for an equity investment. For this 2023 call for projects, HMG is focusing on six themes: autotech, mobility services, smart factory, robotics, metaverse and proptech. The new projects selected will be announced in April.
In any case, this means of financing startups is very important for the Korean group. “Many of the disruptive breakthroughs shaping mobility transformation come from startups operating outside of the automotive industry. Therefore, it is essential that Hyundai Motor Group leaves no avenues unexplored when researching future technologies.”, said Dr. Yunseong Hwang, Vice President and Head of Open Innovation Execution Group at Hyundai Motor Group. This statement was made in January, during the CES in Las Vegas, where Hyundai Motor presented its ZER01NE initiative and highlighted some startups.
