42dot to lead Hyundai Group's in-vehicle software R&D

Hyundai Motor Group’s self-driving technology arm 42dot Inc. will absorb the electronics, infotainment and autonomous driving technology divisions of the group’s major research center in line with its push to offer connected and personalized services in the software-defined vehicle (SDV) era, according to industry sources on Friday.

Next month, the South Korean automotive group will carry out a software-focused reorganization at the Hyundai Kia Namyang R&D Center in Gyeonggi Province.

Employees at the divisions to be integrated into 42dot will be relocated to the group's software headquarters in Pangyo, known as the Silicon Valley of Korea. Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. are part of the automotive group.

“Software divisions are scattered around the group, so it reduces consistency, complicates the collaboration system and slows down the R&D process,” said one of the sources.

In 2022, Hyundai Motor acquired 42dot for 427.6 billion won ($330 million), two years after it appointed the startup’s founder Song Chang-hyeon as head of the newly established Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) division.

Song oversees the development of autonomous driving and mobility technology platforms.

Under Hyundai Motor Group, 42dot has bulked up and assumed a bigger role.

Last year, Hyundai Motor Group redirected the core functions of the TaaS division and AIRS Company, an in-house startup dedicated to artificial intelligence technology, to 42dot.

In April this year, Hyundai and Kia injected 1 trillion won ($770 million) into 42dot for it to be the group’s global software center.

After taking over the R&D center’s software development divisions, the number of 42dot's employees will triple to 600, compared to 200 at the end of the first half of 2022.

CONNECTED CARS

The R&D center's reorganization, expected to occur next month, comes as Hyundai Motor Group aims to transform all its models into SDVs by 2025.

In its first step toward the move, it applied over-the-air (OTA) software update technology to all vehicles it rolled out this year.

OTA software enables drivers to upgrade in-vehicle software, such as infotainment and in-car payments, through mobile phones and other wireless devices.

They are offered in the form of connected car services on a subscription basis, and thus create a steady stream of income for carmakers.

Hyundai Motor Group’s connected car services have reached 10 million subscribers, which it expects to double by 2025.

It will spend 18 trillion won ($14 billion) by 2030 to develop software technology such as connectivity and autonomous driving.

“We are preparing to reorganize our R&D operations to strengthen future mobility R&D capabilities. But nothing has been determined yet,” said a Hyundai Motor official.

Write to Il-Gue Kim and Han-Gyeol Seon at Black0419@hankyung.com
 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.