The United States and South Korea are supercharging their cooperation in Physical Artificial Intelligence (AI), with innovators from South Korea securing $300 million in business consultations and signing seven supply and project contracts with U.S. tech giants including Nvidia, Tesla, Google and Amazon.
According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) on June 25, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, together with KOTRA, hosted the “2026 Silicon Valley Physical AI SuperConnect” at the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley, California, on June 24 (local time). The event drew roughly 400 attendees and brought together 41 innovative South Korean tech companies and 150 major U.S. tech firms and investment institutions.
The two countries held more than 300 business consultations worth a combined $300 million, aiming to build robust supply chains and spark technological collaboration across Physical AI sectors, including AI chips, robotics and autonomous driving. These talks delivered immediate, tangible results: seven supply and project contracts were signed on the showroom floor. Among the highlights was a milestone partnership between a South Korean 4D imaging radar company and a U.S. partner to supply technology for a micro-data center project.
To help South Korean startups secure capital, the event also featured an insight forum and IR pitching sessions attended by around 200 prominent U.S. investors. In parallel, a dedicated talent recruitment track connected Korean companies with top-tier tech professionals in Silicon Valley.
Strategic institutional partnerships were also expanded during the event. KOTRA agreed to establish a dedicated robotics cooperation channel with Silicon Valley Robotics (SVR, formerly BARA) and pushed for deeper technical exchanges with the Edge AI and Vision Alliance (EAIVA) in key Physical AI fields such as edge computing and vision sensors. At the same time, Invest KOREA--South Korea's national investment promotion agency--signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Dexterity, a leading U.S. Physical AI unicorn. The two sides pledged to reinvigorate the cross-border AI ecosystem by combining South Korea's world-class manufacturing capabilities with America's cutting-edge Physical AI software.
“As Physical AI emerges as the linchpin of industrial innovation, this event clearly showed that top-tier U.S. tech firms and investors are eager to partner with K-tech companies, which possess a rare combination of hardware manufacturing and ICT expertise,” said Kang Kyung-sung, CEO of KOTRA. “By leveraging our extensive network across Silicon Valley and the broader United States, we will provide integrated support that combines exports, investment, talent acquisition and technology commercialization. This will accelerate practical business partnerships between U.S. and Korean firms and help us jointly lead the global Physical AI market.”
