Automakers, tech giants gather in Seoul for physical AI showcase

Autonomous Mobility Expo 2025 at Coex in Gangnam District, Seoul / Courtesy of Coex

As the race to bring artificial intelligence (AI) into the physical world accelerates, Seoul is taking center stage. This month, a major autonomous-driving expo will gather leading technology firms, automakers, and mobility specialists to showcase the next generation of physical AI.

The 2026 Autonomous Mobility Expo (AME) will run Tuesday through Thursday at Coex in Hall B, organizers said Monday.

Co-hosted by Coex and the Korea Association of Autonomous Mobility Industry, the three-day event will cover autonomous driving technology, AI software, mobility services, unmanned and logistics robots and related infrastructure.

Companies including Autonomous a2z, Socar, RideFlux, SWM and SOSLAB are expected to showcase technologies and services, as the exhibition expands its focus to high-definition maps, logistics robots and mobility services.

The event’s conference will focus on the shift from generative AI toward physical AI, including world models, vision-language-action systems, autonomous driving foundation models and software-defined vehicles.

Speakers from Nvidia, Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Mobis, Qualcomm, Kakao Mobility, LG Electronics and HL Klemove are scheduled to participate.

Marco Pavone, a Stanford University professor and Nvidia senior director in AI, is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech on reasoning models for physical AI.

Other sessions will address data-driven autonomous driving development, software-defined vehicle strategies, safety, regulation and the commercialization of autonomous mobility services.

Government and public sector organizations will also participate.

Business programs will include an export consultation event with overseas buyers, an investor pitch session, a networking event and a self-driving hackathon.

AME will be held alongside EV Trend Korea 2026 and the Unmanned Vehicle X-Military Collaboration Expo, collectively forming Future Mobility Week 2026 at Coex.

A Coex official said the expo would help share global technology trends and industry strategies while encouraging cooperation between companies and institutions and advancing the commercialization of autonomous driving.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.