Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group are strengthening their strategic partnership to secure a leading position in next-generation mobility. They also plan to explore opportunities in physical AI, extending their collaboration beyond automotive semiconductors, batteries, displays, and other components.
On Nov. 9, Samsung hosted “HMG Appreciation Day” at Samsung Electronics' Seocheon training center, inviting senior Hyundai Motor Group executives. A total of 177 people attended, including executives from key affiliates of both groups and their spouses.
Hyundai Motor Group is the first major Korean business group Samsung has invited to an event of this scale. The gathering aimed to build on their longstanding trust and cooperation to explore new opportunities in emerging industries.
The two groups have been expanding their collaboration on key automotive components, including Samsung Electronics' automotive memory chips, Samsung SDI's electric vehicle batteries, and Samsung Display's OLED panels.
Ties between the groups date back to their founders. In November 1985, Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull attended Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung's 70th birthday celebration despite being ill. In March 2001, the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee invited Chung Mong-koo, then chairman of Hyundai Motor and Kia, to a private meeting at Seungjiwon, Samsung's guesthouse.
Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung have since elevated cooperation between individual affiliates into a group-level strategic partnership. They met twice in 2020 to discuss future mobility, and that collaboration reached a milestone in 2023 when Samsung SDI and Hyundai Motor signed their first EV battery supply agreement.
The groups now aim to deepen their collaboration in physical AI. Combining Samsung's semiconductor and electronic component technologies with Hyundai Motor Group's autonomous driving and robotics expertise could extend their partnership into physical AI applications across future mobility and industrial operations.
“Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung are trusted partners that have helped write the history of Korean industry,” Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun said in his welcoming remarks. “We look forward to bringing together Hyundai Motor Group's innovative vision and Samsung's technological capabilities, spanning components to finished products, to create new value and unlock limitless possibilities.”
“Samsung and Hyundai Motor Group are expanding the scope of their potential collaboration beyond automotive electronics, audio, batteries, and other vehicle components into future industries such as robotics and energy,” said Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chair Jose Munoz?
“We can achieve greater synergies by bringing together the strengths each group has built over three generations since its founding. I hope we will respect each other's strengths and join forces to tackle the challenges ahead,” said Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chair Chang Jae-hoon.
Samsung also set up an exhibition showcasing future mobility technologies from its key affiliates.
Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions division presented advanced automotive semiconductors, while Samsung SDI showcased all-solid-state batteries, battery cells, and pack modules. Samsung Electro-Mechanics displayed camera modules for autonomous driving and automotive multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs).
Samsung Display and Harman presented automotive solutions for the shift toward software-defined vehicles (SDVs), including next-generation displays and central communication units (CCUs).
