ZER01NE Lab, ZER01NE Ignite projects on display

Seven startups nurtured by Hyundai Motor Group to participate

Hyundai Motor Group employees take part in the 2026 ZER01NE Demo Day. [Hyundai Motor Group]
Hyundai Motor Group employees take part in the 2026 ZER01NE Demo Day. [Hyundai Motor Group]

Hyundai Motor Group's creative talent platform ZER01NE announced Wednesday that it is holding the 2026 ZER01NE Demo Day at the Hyundai Motor and Kia Yangjae headquarters in Seoul from Monday through Friday.

ZER01NE is a creative space and talent platform that Hyundai Motor Group established in 2018 along Gangnam-daero in Seocho-gu, Seoul, with the goal of building a collaborative ecosystem for creative talent. The Demo Day is an event where artists, developers, startups and other professionals from diverse fields showcase their projects and business models, and is open to all visitors.

This year's event is being held in the lobby of the Yangjae headquarters, which was renovated in March around the values of connection and collaboration, with a focus on promoting Hyundai Motor Group's culture of creative innovation and fostering communication among employees.

The theme for this year's exhibition is "ZER01NE Emerge," reflecting the idea that new possibilities for innovation emerge when ideas from different parties — ZER01NE creators, employees and startups — come together.

Under that theme, 11 projects will be presented across AI, robotics and mobility. They include three ZER01NE Lab projects developed through collaboration between creators and Hyundai Motor and Kia employees, one ZER01NE Ignite project from an internal and external developer community, and exhibitions by seven innovative technology startups nurtured by ZER01NE.

The ZER01NE Lab lineup features "HMG-01XP," which presents a vision for the future factory through the lens of robotics, humanity and sustainability; "OS," which reinterprets the relationship between human-centered mobility and smart cities to propose an integrated concept; and "Room No. Echo," which explores the PV5 as a mobile studio for creators and its potential applications with AI.

ZER01NE Ignite will unveil "Physical AI Companion: The Traveling Soul," which delivers an AI experience that works seamlessly across different devices, allowing users to experience hyper-personalized AI spanning vehicles, mobile devices and robots. Seven startups that ZER01NE has nurtured and invested in — and that have received strong evaluations for their technological maturity and feasibility — will also take part in the exhibition.

Side programs will include a sharing of innovative technologies from Hyundai Cradle, Hyundai Motor Group's global open innovation hub, presentations of outstanding startup cases, and creator talks on AI and robotics.

"The ZER01NE Demo Day is a meaningful event where employees can encounter ZER01NE's creative projects in an open space built for communication, collaboration and new connections," a ZER01NE official said. "We hope it serves as an opportunity to share insights into Hyundai Motor Group's future business and technological changes, and to discover new possibilities for collaboration."

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Group has been pursuing a range of talent development initiatives, including recently holding a graduation and launch ceremony for the second and third cohorts of its Hyundai Jump School program in Jakarta, Indonesia. Hyundai Jump School is an educational social contribution program in which university students help young people with their studies, while corporate employees and professional mentors in turn support those students' career development.


eyre@heraldcorp.com