42dot gets $185m from Hyundai-Kia to boost hiring
Summary
Song Chang-hyun, CEO of 42dot and head of Hyundai-Kias advanced vehicle platform, speaks at the 3rd Hyundai Motor Group Developer Conference in Seoul on Nov. 13, 2023. (Hyundai Motor Group)Hyundai Motor and Kia are investing some 253 billion won ($185 million) in 42dot, the global software center within Hyundai Motor Group, to aggressively recruit top-tier talent and accelerate the groups software-defined vehicle strategy.On Tuesday, Hyundai and Kia announced through Koreas Financial Supervisory Service that their boards had approved a capital increase, with Hyundai contributing over 152 billion won and Kia adding more than 101 billion won. A Hyundai Motor Group official described this funding as the second phase of investment, continuing the momentum from the first phase in May last year.The software center plans to direct the new funds primarily toward talent acquisition, with over 100 job openings currently listed.While we cant disclose our exact employee count, were committed to hiring the best talent out there, with no set limits on how many we bring on board, a 42dot official said.In April last year, Hyundai and Kia announced a phased investment plan for 42dot, amounting to 642.6 billion won and 42.83 billion won, respectively, spread over three stages until 2025. The second phase of more than 253 billion won is scheduled for this month, with the final portion planned for 2025.Hyundai Motor Group aims to complete the development of its standardized software-defined vehicle platform by 2025 and start rolling it out across the vehicle lineup in 2026. Software-defined vehicles refer to vehicles that are capable of receiving new features and improvements through software updates without needing to change their physical parts.At this years CES technology show in Las Vegas, 42dot announced a partnership with Samsung Electronics to utilize the chipmakers Exynos Auto, a processor designed for automotive applications, in developing its software-defined vehicle platform.At the EV3 launch last month, Kia explained that the vehicles new voice assistant, Kia Assistant, utilizes ChatGPT with customization from 42dot.