Hyundai, Nvidia announce $3b AI factory plan for cars, factories and robots

Hyundai Motor Group and Nvidia are deepening their partnership with an AI factory powered by Nvidia’s Blackwell infrastructure, part of an about US$3 billion public-private push with the Korean Government to accelerate autonomous driving, smart factory and robotics development.

The companies say the project marks a shift from adopting software platforms to jointly innovating “physical AI” across mobility solutions and on-device semiconductors. Hyundai Motor Group and Nvidia plan integrated AI model training, validation and deployment using 50,000 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs.

In support of the Korean Government’s national physical AI cluster, Hyundai Motor Group and Nvidia will collaborate with government stakeholders on an investment of about $3 billion. Key elements include a Hyundai Motor Group Physical AI Application Center, an Nvidia AI Technology Center and regional physical AI data centres. The Ministry of Science and ICT, Hyundai Motor Group and Nvidia signed a memorandum of understanding on October 31.

Hyundai Motor Group executive chair Euisun Chung says the deal marks a pivotal step forward for AI-powered mobility and smart factory innovation.

“Together, we are not only building advanced technologies but also laying the foundation for a robust AI ecosystem in Korea – one that fosters innovation, nurtures talent, and positions us at the forefront of global AI leadership.

“AI will revolutionise every facet of every industry. In transportation alone – from vehicle design and manufacturing to robotics and autonomous driving – NVIDIA’s AI and computing platforms are transforming how the world moves,” Nvidia founder and chief executive Jensen Huang says. “Together with Hyundai Motor Group – Korea’s industrial powerhouse and one of the world’s top mobility solutions providers – we’re building intelligent cars and factories that will shape the future of the multitrillion-dollar mobility industry.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon says for Korea to leap forward as a leading nation in AI, the advancement of physical AI is essential.

“This inaugural step in public-private collaboration to foster physical AI is therefore incredibly significant.

“Korea has a strong foundation in manufacturing. By combining Korea’s rich manufacturing data with Nvidia’s cutting-edge AI infrastructure, we expect to build a win-win model through collaboration with domestic companies, thereby accelerating innovative AI transformation (AX) in manufacturing across industries,” he says.

Hyundai Motor Group says the Blackwell-based AI factory will underpin in-vehicle AI, autonomous driving, factory automation and robotics in one interconnected ecosystem. It will use three Nvidia compute platforms: DGX and other Nvidia AI infrastructure for large-scale model training; Nvidia Omniverse and Nvidia Cosmos running on Nvidia RTX PRO Servers for digital twins and simulation; and Nvidia DRIVE AGX Thor as the real-time “AI brain” for vehicles and robots.

Under the expanded collaboration, Hyundai Motor Group will use Omniverse Enterprise to create factory digital twins, unify and manage factory data, enable software- and hardware-in-the-loop validation, and support virtual commissioning. Nvidia Isaac Sim will extend to humanoid and robotic systems for virtual validation of tasks, motion planning and ergonomic safety before deployment.

Hyundai Motor Group is also testing Omniverse and Cosmos on Nvidia RTX PRO Servers, with Nvidia RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs, to build digital twins of regional driving conditions and scale autonomous-driving simulations.

Advanced AI models built with Nvidia Nemotron open models and Nvidia NeMo tools could support over-the-air updates and new in-vehicle features, from personalised digital assistants to adaptive comfort systems. Inside the vehicle, Nvidia DRIVE AGX Thor, running the safety-certified DriveOS operating system, is expected to power advanced driver assistance, next-generation safety and in-vehicle intelligence.