Hyundai Robotics, a subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings, has secured investment of £34m from KT, formerly Korea Telecom.
The company signed a pre-IPO investment contract at KT Gwanghwamun Building East in Jongno, Seoul earlier this month.
Through the contract, Hyundai Robotics will be listed on the market from 2022, valued at £338m, and KT will acquire 10% of the company’s shares.
Ki-Sun Chung, vice president, administrative support, Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings, said: “The competitive edge of manufacturing companies is no longer to simply manufacture products, but to read and actively change with the market flow of digitalisation.
“Our cooperation with KT will become an opportunity for “digital innovation” that will help Hyundai Robotics and the entire Hyundai Heavy Industries Group strengthen our competitive edge as leading corporations in the world.”
Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings and KT will work together in various fields, such as AI and ICT, to co-develop solutions including service robots used in hotels, restaurants and smart factories, for which Hyundai Robotics will develop the hardware and KT the operational software, including a self-driving algorithm.
The two companies will also develop a jointly operated and controlled smart platform for use in factories, hospitals and logistics, with robots provided by Hyundai and wireless cloud services from KT.
Moreover, both companies will establish a cooperation committee of six members (three members from each company), headed by Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings vice president Ki-Sun Chung and KT president Hyeon-Mo Koo, to strengthen business cooperation around Hyundai Robotics and discover new ways to cooperate with other subsidiary companies.
KT president Koo said: “This strategic partnership is a new driving force of growth for the Hyundai Heavy Industries Group and we expect it to become a stepping stone for Hyundai Robotics to grow into a global robot company.”
