Huang, Chung meet at Hyundai Motor Group's Yangjae headquarters
Chung proposes joint AI and robotics project at Saemangeum
Huang: 'If California has Silicon Valley, Korea is building an AI Valley'
Nvidia participation in Saemangeum 'AI Valley' plan under discussion
Cooperation to span autonomous driving, robotics and AI manufacturing systems
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has likened Hyundai Motor Group's Saemangeum vision to an "AI Valley" on par with Silicon Valley, signaling a willingness to deepen cooperation across a broader range of fields. His remarks came after a meeting with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung in which the two discussed autonomous driving, robotics and AI factory collaboration, and were widely read as an expression of support for building Saemangeum into a physical AI hub for Korea.
Huang met with Chung for about an hour, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, at Hyundai Motor Group's Yangjae headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Speaking to reporters afterward, he said, "If California has Silicon Valley, Korea is building an AI Valley," and added that "AI will be a very important technology for this region" — a reference to Saemangeum in North Jeolla Province. The "AI Valley" Huang mentioned refers to Saemangeum, which Hyundai Motor Group is developing as a future industrial hub.
Huang also indicated that Chung had invited him to visit Saemangeum. "If there's great barbecue, I'd be happy to go," he said with a laugh, signaling genuine interest in the project.
Chung pitches Saemangeum project directly to Huang, leaving door open for Nvidia
Chung said he personally briefed Huang on the Saemangeum project. "Hyundai Motor Group is making significant investments in Saemangeum, and additional investment will follow," he said. "I explained the Saemangeum project — integrating AI and robotics into the site — and we talked about working together to build something more complete if Nvidia is willing to participate."
Huang, however, said he would review the details of Chung's AI and robotics integration plan for Saemangeum before discussing the possibility of Nvidia's involvement.
The Saemangeum project Chung proposed to Huang is a large-scale investment initiative that Hyundai Motor Group is pursuing to establish a future physical AI hub.
In February, Hyundai Motor Group signed an investment agreement with the central government and North Jeolla Province to commit a total of 9 trillion won (about $5.83 billion) to Saemangeum in phases. The plan calls for developing a 1.124 million-square-meter site with an AI data center capable of housing 50,000 GPUs, solar power facilities, a 200-megawatt water electrolysis plant, an AI hydrogen city, and a robot manufacturing and parts cluster.
Through the project, Hyundai Motor Group aims to build both the AI computing infrastructure needed for autonomous driving, robotics and smart factory development, and a hydrogen and robotics ecosystem.
'The brain of a robot is the AI factory' — Huang stresses physical AI infrastructure
The central message Huang delivered at Monday's meeting was the importance of AI factories. "Just as cars are produced in factories, AI must be produced in AI factories," he said. "When Korea builds robots in the future, it must also build the AI factories that serve as the robots' brains." He added that "just as humans need cloud data centers, robots need AI factories," and said both areas "will see very large investment going forward."
The remarks shed light on the direction of the physical AI cooperation Hyundai Motor Group and Nvidia are pursuing. Physical AI refers to technology that allows artificial intelligence to move beyond the digital realm and make autonomous decisions in the physical world — in vehicles, robots and factories.
Hyundai Motor Group, with its finished vehicles, production facilities, Boston Dynamics robots and Motional robotaxi operations, is widely regarded as a prime partner for applying the physical AI capabilities Nvidia champions to real industrial settings.
Autonomous driving, robotics, manufacturing — Hyundai Motor and Nvidia lay out three pillars of cooperation
Huang said the agenda he and Chung discussed covered autonomous driving and mobility, industrial robotics, and AI-based future manufacturing systems. "We talked about how to expand autonomous driving mobility and make transportation safer," he said. "Chairman Chung is always focused on inventing new technology, but he places great importance on ensuring that technology is used safely — for humanity and for Korea."
On autonomous driving, Nvidia's automotive AI computing platform is expected to align with Hyundai Motor Group's software-defined vehicle strategy. The group is working to build a scalable autonomous driving architecture — from Level 2 and above advanced driver assistance systems to Level 4 robotaxis — using Nvidia's autonomous driving platform Drive Hyperion and the in-vehicle AI computing platform Drive AGX Thor.
On robotics, the two sides discussed ways to accelerate the move from research to real-world industrial deployment. "Robotics is currently in the basic and applied research phase, but the moment for industrialization is drawing very close," Huang said. "We talked about how to work together to drive broader adoption of Hyundai Motor's robotics platform and integrate it more deeply into manufacturing environments."
'Korea needs much larger AI infrastructure' — Huang calls for research centers and data centers
On manufacturing, the central question was how to embed AI into factory systems. "We discussed not just how AI can be useful for mobility and robotics, but how it can be applied to the factory itself," Huang said. "We talked about integrating AI into future manufacturing systems."
Huang also stressed the need to expand Korea's AI infrastructure. "Korea is now one of the world's top countries in AI," he said. "However, Korea's current AI infrastructure is still too small to support AI researchers, universities, startups and large companies. Korea will need very large AI factories going forward." The remarks connect directly to the roughly $3 billion (4.6 trillion won) investment that Hyundai Motor Group and Nvidia are pursuing to establish an Nvidia AI technology center, a Hyundai Motor Group physical AI applications center, and a regional data center.
'No company better positioned than Hyundai Motor' — Huang praises manufacturing and mobility capabilities
Huang spoke highly of Hyundai Motor Group's manufacturing and mobility capabilities. "Hyundai Motor is a world-class manufacturer and mobility expert," he said. "As Hyundai Motor's capabilities combine with the new AI era, physical AI and robotics are truly igniting."
"There is no company better positioned to harness and create this than Hyundai Motor," he added. "It is now Hyundai Motor's time."
Chung cites 15-year relationship: 'Nvidia is our most important technology partner'
Chung also spoke about the long history between the two companies and his commitment to deepening the partnership. "I first met Jensen Huang at CES 15 years ago, and my impression at the time was that Nvidia was a powerhouse in gaming," he said. "I am deeply honored to be discussing mobility and robotics today with someone I have admired ever since."
"As Hyundai Motor Group searches for technology that benefits people and society, Nvidia is our most important technology partner," he added. "With so many projects already underway, we will continue to strengthen our cooperation."
Huang tours Nexo, Pony, Spot and MoBeD one by one
Huang spent a total of two hours with Chung on Monday. He arrived at the east entrance of Hyundai Motor Group's Yangjae headquarters at around 1:30 p.m. and was greeted on the first floor by Chairman Chung, Vice Chairman Jang Jae-hoon, Park Min-woo — head of the Hyundai Motor and Kia Advanced Vehicle Platform division and CEO of 42dot — and Senior Vice President Kim Heung-su.
Huang then spent about 30 minutes touring heritage exhibits in front of the east wing, starting with the hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle Nexo and an automatic hydrogen charging robot, before moving on to the Pony — Hyundai Motor's first passenger car — and the Kia three-wheeled T600. He then viewed the gardening robot Dali Gardener, the security and patrol robot Spot, the Kia purpose-built vehicle PV5, and the mobility platform MoBeD in turn.
Before the doorstep press briefing that followed the roughly one-hour meeting, Huang and Chung signed both MoBeD and Spot. Huang wrote "Jensen ♥ Hyundai" on the vehicles. After completing the lobby tour, the meeting and the press briefing, Huang left the Yangjae headquarters at around 3:30 p.m. for his next engagement — a visit to Naver.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited Hyundai Motor Group's Yangjae headquarters on Monday, meeting with Chairman Euisun Chung and touring the facility's robot exhibits, expressing strong expectations for Hyundai Motor Group's physical AI strategy.
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