Hyundai Motor Group and Nvidia are expanding their strategic partnership in autonomous driving, moving beyond Level 2 driver assistance toward Level 4 robotaxi technologies.
Hyundai said Tuesday the companies will jointly develop next-generation autonomous driving solutions by combining Hyundai Motor and Kia’s software-defined vehicle capabilities with Nvidia’s AI-driven autonomous technologies. The partnership will also include deploying Nvidia’s Level 2+ systems — enhanced driver assistance requiring constant supervision — in select models.
In the mid- to long-term, the companies plan to deepen collaboration through Motional, Hyundai’s US-based autonomous driving joint venture with Aptiv, to advance Level 4 robotaxi technologies.
At Nvidia’s GPU Technology Conference 2026 in San Jose, CEO Jensen Huang announced Hyundai as a new partner for Nvidia’s robotaxi-ready platform, a full-stack system integrating AI software, computing and training for large-scale deployment of driverless vehicles. Hyundai joins global automakers including BYD, Nissan and Geely in the initiative.
As part of its broader push to accelerate in-house autonomous driving capabilities, Hyundai will adopt Nvidia’s Drive Hyperion platform — a modular architecture integrating high-performance computing, sensors and software — to build a unified system scalable from Level 2 to Level 4 autonomy.
The platform is expected to streamline development and reduce integration complexity, while helping standardize Hyundai’s software-defined vehicle architecture across models.
Hyundai also aims to strengthen its AI capabilities through Hyperion’s data processing and continuous learning functions, enabling a full-cycle system covering data collection, AI training, real-world deployment and performance improvement.
In addition, the automaker plans to integrate data generated across the group into a unified learning pipeline using Nvidia’s AI technologies, enhancing its ability to process and utilize real-world driving data.
Industry observers say the partnership could help Hyundai narrow the gap with rivals such as Tesla in next-generation mobility technologies, following recent restructuring of its autonomous driving operations, including its AVP division and subsidiary 42dot.
“Expanding our partnership with Nvidia will be a key driver in advancing safe and reliable autonomous driving,” said Kim Heung-soo, executive vice president and head of Hyundai’s global strategy office.
The partnership began to take shape at the 2025 APEC summit in Gyeongju, where Hyundai unveiled plans to build an AI-powered factory using Nvidia’s Blackwell chips.
hyejin2@heraldcorp.com
