Hyundai Motor, Kia expand strategic ties with Nvidia for autonomous driving

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, right, shakes hands with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, left, during the Korea-U.S. Business Roundtable in Washington, Aug. 25, 2025. At center is Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong. Yonhap

Hyundai Motor and Kia have decided to equip some of the carmakers' models with Nvidia's Level 2 and higher self-driving technologies in their latest strategic partnership, the companies said Tuesday.

The broadened framework is aimed at activating the future autonomous vehicle ecosystem in the rapidly evolving global software-defined vehicle (SDV) industry.

Under the partnership, Hyundai Motor Group will leverage Nvidia’s expansive data platforms and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, while systematically integrating all accumulated data into a unified learning pipeline.

This approach will enhance autonomous driving development maturity, enabling the carmaker to respond comprehensively to market dynamics and accelerate its internalization of data-driven autonomous driving technology, the automaker said.

An IONIQ 5 robotaxi is in operation in Las Vegas in this undated photo. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor

The group will also establish an integrated autonomous driving architecture scalable from Level 2 through to Level 4 by using Nvidia’s DRIVE Hyperion platform.

The carmaker plans to advance discussions with Nvidia to leverage new technologies for its ultimate goal of successfully commercializing its Level 4 robotaxi business.

The group said the latest partnership represents a key milestone for Hyundai Motor Group’s commitment to safe and reliable autonomous driving technology implementation.

The alliance is also seen as a strategic step for the carmaker to boost its internalization of its proprietary driving AI.

Hyundai Motor and Kia continuously train their models by using data collected under real-world driving conditions. This helps Hyundai Motor Group to develop its proprietary AI models used for advanced autonomous driving solutions.

“The expanded partnership with Nvidia marks an important milestone in realizing Hyundai Motor Group’s vision for safe and reliable autonomous driving technology,” said Kim Heung-soo, executive vice president and head of the global strategy office at Hyundai Motor Group.

“Based on a unified, group-wide collaborative framework, we will strengthen our differentiated technological competitiveness from Level 2 and above autonomous driving technology to Level 4 robotaxi services."

Nvidia also spoke highly of the latest partnership with the carmaker.

“The future of mobility will be built on AI and software, and we are combining Hyundai Motor Group’s leadership in vehicle engineering with Nvidia’s accelerated computing and AI to build safe, intelligent, Nvidia DRIVE-based autonomous driving systems from advanced driver assistance to scalable robotaxi services with Motional,” said Rishi Dhall, vice president of automotive at Nvidia.

Motional is a self-driving venture of Hyundai Motor Group and is now operating a pilot robotaxi service in Las Vegas. It is scheduled to operate its full-fledged robotaxi service there by the end of this year.