Hyundai Motor Invests in Israeli Autonomous Vehicle Venture

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Hyundai Motor Company has been confirmed to have invested in an Israeli startup that possesses technology enabling remote operation of automobiles.

According to the automotive industry on the 26th, Hyundai Motor participated in a $9 million (approximately 10 billion KRW) funding round conducted by the Israeli automotive startup Ottopia. Participants in the funding included Hyundai Motor, Sumitomo, Mizma, and NextGear. Hyundai Motor's investment amount is known to be in the tens of billions of KRW range.

Founded in 2018, Ottopia possesses autonomous driving technology that allows remote operation of vehicles. Drivers can operate cars from thousands of kilometers away. Through monitors and cameras, remote monitoring and control of various vehicles are also possible.

Rosenzweig, founder of Ottopia, explained, "Our goal is to make autonomous transportation that is closer to reality easily accessible to everyone."

Through this investment, Hyundai Motor is also expected to join Ottopia's management. It has been reported that Jang Woongjun, Executive Director of Hyundai Motor's Autonomous Driving Division, will join Ottopia as a board member.

Executive Director Jang is also the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of Motional, a joint venture for autonomous driving between Hyundai Motor and the American automotive electronics company Aptiv. He has overseen Hyundai Motor Group's autonomous driving research and led joint projects with Aptiv.

Hyundai Motor views the autonomous driving business as a future growth engine and is conducting various investments. Recently, it has also been pursuing the acquisition of the Swiss autonomous driving startup Bestmile.

Bestmile, founded in 2014, is an autonomous driving service platform company. It provides integrated solutions necessary for autonomous shuttles, robotaxis, and purpose-built mobility (PBV) services.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.