Hyundai partners on low‑power robot chips

Robots need a local “brain” to see, decide and move in real time, and Hyundai is building that brain with South Korean chip designer DEEPX. (hyundai.com) Hyundai Motor Group’s Robotics LAB said on January 8, 2026 that it had started mass production of an on-device “edge brain” chip co-developed with DEEPX after a three-year partnership that began with a 2023 memorandum of understanding. (hyundai.com) (deepx.ai) On April 14, 2026, DEEPX chief executive Lokwon Kim said the companies were expanding that work into a computing platform for generative artificial intelligence robots using DEEPX’s second-generation low-power chips. Reuters reported the platform is aimed at robots that run artificial intelligence on the device instead of sending every task to the cloud. (asiaone.com) (goldsea.com) That distinction matters because a factory robot or delivery robot cannot wait for a distant server every time it needs to recognize a box, avoid a person or adjust its path. Hyundai said its current “edge brain” chip lets robots recognize surroundings in real time and make autonomous decisions without cloud or network connectivity. (hyundai.com) Power use is the bottleneck. Hyundai said the current chip uses less than 5 watts during operation, and Kim said DEEPX’s next-generation parts are designed for generative artificial intelligence workloads that can otherwise overheat battery-powered robots. (hyundai.com) (asiaone.com) DEEPX said Hyundai’s Robotics LAB had already tested its chips on robot algorithms before the partnership was formalized in 2023, and Reuters reported Hyundai is already using DEEPX chips in four-wheeled delivery robots. That makes the latest announcement an expansion of an existing supply and development relationship, not a first contact. (deepx.ai) (goldsea.com) Hyundai has been laying out a broader robotics manufacturing plan this year. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the group said it would deploy Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid robot across global plants through phased validation starting in 2028, and Reuters reported Hyundai plans a factory capable of producing 30,000 robot units a year by 2028. (hyundai.com) (asiaone.com) Hyundai also said at the Consumer Electronics Show that it wants robots in factories, buildings, logistics and mobility, and that it is building a wider network of partners around software, components and manufacturing. Hyun Dong-jin, who leads Hyundai’s Robotics LAB, told Reuters the DEEPX work is part of an effort to build an ecosystem of on-device computing partners in South Korea and overseas. (hyundai.com) (asiaone.com) For DEEPX, the Hyundai tie-up arrives as the startup prepares for a public listing. Kim said the company is seeking more than 600 billion won, about $408 million, in a funding round ahead of a potential initial public offering in South Korea, after starting chip production late in 2025. (goldsea.com) (asiaone.com) The next test is whether these low-power chips can move from delivery robots and factory pilots into larger fleets of mobile and industrial machines. Hyundai has already set the timetable: validate first, then scale. (hyundai.com)