- Hyundai Motor and Kia’s ZER01NE Creative Talent Platform showcases transformative startup collaborations at CES 2023
- ZER01NE bolsters Hyundai Motor Group’s global strategy to engage with new companies at an early stage and foster breakthrough technical advances
- The project builds on the success of previous collaborations; delivers benefits beyond the automotive and mobility sectors to enhance humanity
- 10 startups exhibiting in the ZER01NE platform; projects range from digital therapy for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to advanced camera technology providing a human-like wide field of view to smart robots
- Visitors to engage with 10 startups showcased at the ZER01NE Pavilion from Jan. 5-8, located at Venetian Exo 1st floor Eureka Park
LAS VEGAS and SEOUL – Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation have released details of the ZER01NE Creative Talent Platform, with which they will showcase innovative startups at CES 2023. The ZER01NE Platform highlights Hyundai Motor Group’s strategy of building relationships with and nurturing an ecosystem for creators and startups. The ZER01NE Pavilion will be located at Venetian Exo 1st floor of Eureka Park.
Ten startups are exhibiting in the ZER01NE pavilion, developing solutions for a diverse range of challenges. These range from digital therapy for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to advanced camera technology that provides a human-like wide field of view to smart robots.
“Many of the disruptive breakthroughs that are shaping the transformation of mobility are coming from startups operating outside the automotive industry. Therefore, it is essential that Hyundai Motor Group leaves no avenue unexplored when researching future technologies,” said Dr. Yunseong Hwang, Vice President and Head of the Open Innovation Execution Group at Hyundai Motor Group.
“The ZER01NE initiative enables the Group to engage with the best and brightest next-generation startups to develop innovative solutions. The influence of the ZER01NE Creative Talent Platform reaches far beyond the automotive and mobility sectors to accelerate the development of technology that will also deliver benefits for humanity as a whole.”
The ZER01NE initiative is presented at CES within an exclusive ZER01NE Pavilion, which features an open-plan layout and an array of interactive exhibitions for guests to enjoy. The pavilion is divided into four zones. The Startup Zone presents ten startup companies. Five of these are presented by the ZER01NE Accelerator program, operated by Hyundai Motor and Kia, which nurtures relationships with and fosters the growth of external startups worldwide. The remaining five startups have been formed internally within the Group, based on ideas and innovations that have come from employees, and are promoted by the Group’s internal ZER01NE Company Builder program.
Each of the external startups has benefitted from participation in the Group’s ZER01NE Accelerator program. This enabled them to apply to one of 38 projects derived by the Group’s internal teams under seven key themes: auto tech, in-car user experience (UX), charging, mobility services, smart logistics, smart construction, and materials. Each startup was limited to one specific project. The successful applicants were provided with a project budget and have the potential to be evaluated for equity investments.
Since the Group introduced the ZER01NE Accelerator in 2018, 125 teams from 11 affiliates of the Group and 96 startups have worked together on 80 collaborative projects. This has led to 51 startups successfully receiving equity investments from the Group.
The five startups participating in the ZER01NE Accelerator program under the ZER01NE Team are eMOTIV, 60Hz, Argosvision, Cellplus Korea, and XYZ.
The Group also encourages its employees to think creatively and get involved in developing pioneering ideas. The Group’s ZER01NE Company Builder initiative is designed to take the very best of those ideas and progress them further. The program provides selected ideas with up to 240,000 USD of funding for development expenses. Following a year of development, the ideas undergo spin-off deliberation with the potential to become an external-facing entity or provide in-house commercialization. Employees can also enlist the guidance of external experts to help develop their startup teams and their ideas.
The five startups under the ZER01NE Company Builder program exhibiting at the ZER01NE pavilion at CES 2023 are VODA AI, Difon, Fittrix, Wondermove, and AutoL.
Within the ZER01NE Pavilion at CES, each of the 10 startups has its own individual exhibition area, where visitors can meet personnel and learn more about the innovations that the startup is developing. Further information on the ZER01NE initiative is provided in the pavilion INFO Zone, where visitors can participate in Q&A sessions. The ZER01NE Zone, which is spread across three individual areas, provides further information and brand identity touch points.
Looking forward, Hyundai Motor and Kia will continue their investment in and commitment to the ZER01NE Creative Platform as it nurtures early-stage startups and transforms their concepts into reality. This will enable the Group to cement its lead in fields such as AI, Smart Mobility, Smart City, New Energy, Logistics, and Robotics. As always, the reach of ZER01NE will extend much further than the automotive and mobility sectors, as it seeks to deliver technological solutions that benefit all of humanity.
Proven formula
Hyundai Motor Group has successfully executed numerous startup collaborations in recent years. In 2017, the Group introduced technology developed by vehicle air quality management solutions provider Embiome into its factories in India. A spin-off company of the Group, Embiome developed a unique microorganism coating for vehicle air conditioner cores to keep the air within the system clean. This year, the technology will be introduced to all the Group’s vehicles globally.
The group’s determination to take a fully sustainable approach to battery production, recycling, and reuse is fortified by its support for Korean mobility startup Poen. The company specializes in giving new life to discarded EV batteries and participates in the development and quality analysis of batteries for new vehicles.
The Group will continue to leave no stone unturned in its pursuit of the very best and most innovative technologies to develop sustainable mobility solutions and benefit humanity. This approach is typified by the latest 10 startups promoted through the ZER01NE Creative Platform at CES 2023 and the pioneering solutions they are developing.
The 10 startups displaying within the ZER01NE pavilion at CES 2023 are:
| Name | Information | Website |
| eMotiv | eMotiv develops digital therapeutics for children with ADHD using mobile games and AI. The Company improves cognitive status and behavior by using a fun game that patients can play on a daily basis and is also planning to expand its services to people with autism and dementia. | emotivdtx.com |
| 60Hertz | 60Hertz develops technologies and services to use and manage eco-friendly energy sources. The company’s Virtual Power Plant (VPP) software connects and manages renewable energy power plants such as solar and wind power as well as distributed energy resources such as EV, ESS, and fuel cells by using technologies such as AI, Big Data, and Cloud. | 60hz.io |
| ArgosVision | ArgosVision develops an ultra-wide 3D depth camera, ArgosVue, to provide a human-like wide field of view to smart robots. It can capture the whole human body within 0.5 meters, enabling interaction between humans and robots at a close distance. | argosvue.com |
| Cellplus | Cellplus Korea, an edge computing company specializing in autonomous vehicles, develops cameras, ISP, autonomous sensors, car platforms, and ultra-fast interfaces for S/W, H/W, and O2O. This facilitates the acquisition & processing of data based on AI through a high-quality, low-cost solution. | cellplus.io |
| XYZ | XYZ is a service robot startup that applies AI and robotics technology to everyday life. It develops user-centered products through AI-based robots and data and provides products and services to enable people to focus on valuable tasks. | xyzcorp.io |
| VODA AI | VODA AI provides an AI machine vision platform service to the manufacturing industry. It makes the quality control process smarter by enabling manufacturing companies to do everything on a single platform. The all-in-one service provides affordable AI inspection systems to accelerate smart factory development. | vodavision.ai |
| Difon | Difon Inc. is a startup spun off from Hyundai Motor Group to provide smart glass film solutions. Difon is also building up a new supply chain with strategic partner companies such as vehicle OEMs, glass makers, and construction companies. | difon.co.kr |
| Fittrix | Fittrix is the first digital healthcare venture company to spin off as an in-house startup of the Hyundai Motor Group. Fittrix provides a cloud-based body data information platform service for the customer experience of customized counseling, product suggestions, and coaching, using more than 50 data points. | fittrix.io |
| Wondermove | Wondermove is a solution/service group creating new value in business activities by providing business strategies and services based on automotive expertise, innovative business strategies, and cutting-edge IT technologies. The company is currently providing a white-label mobility platform in 10 European countries. | wondermove.net |
| AutoL | AutoL is a LiDAR manufacturing startup spun off from Hyundai Motor company’s in-house venture program last year. With an original method that simplifies product structure while maintaining resolution and detection range through optical signal control, it solves the challenges of lidar, such as durability and size. | autol.co.kr |
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