Hyundai Motor starts mass production of AI chips for autonomous robots

Seoul, Jan 9 (IANS) Hyundai Motor Group said on Friday it has started mass production of an on-device artificial intelligence (AI) chip that enables robots to operate autonomously without external network connectivity.

The announcement of the chip, named Edge Brain, was made at CES 2026 in Las Vegas on Thursday (local time), where the group showcased the results of a three-year strategic partnership between Hyundai’s Robotics Lab and DeepX, a South Korea-based AI chip firm, reports Yonhap news agency.

The ultra low-power chip consumes less than 5 watts and enables real-time perception and autonomous decision-making directly on robots, without relying on cloud or network connections.

Hyundai Motor said the technology has already been integrated into several Robotics Lab projects, including Facey, a facial recognition system under development, and a delivery robot currently in the demonstration stage.

The chip will be applied sequentially to the group’s other projects, including AI security solutions and next-generation mobile robots. Hyundai Motor also aims to expand real-world applications through pilot projects at sites such as airports and hospitals.

Meanwhile, the head of South Korea’s automotive giant Hyundai Motor Group met with the chief executive officer (CEO) of Nvidia on the sidelines of CES 2026, raising expectations that the companies could partner in autonomous driving technologies.

According to industry sources, Euisun Chung, executive chair of Hyundai, held a closed-door meeting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel.

The two previously met in Seoul over a widely reported beer and fried chicken gathering also joined by Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong in October, when Huang visited South Korea to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, said the report.

—IANS

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