Hyundai Mobis investing in 2 mobility tech firms in U.S.

Hyundai Mobis, Korea's biggest auto parts maker, said Thursday it will invest $20 million in two U.S. tech funds to foster future mobility startups.

Hyundai Mobis will invest in ACVC Partners and Motus Ventures, seeking to preemptively secure future mobility technologies in the fields of autonomous driving, electrification and connectivity, the company said in a statement.

The two Silicon Valley tech funds have mainly invested in next-generation sensors, biometrics and robotics, which are considered "promising" technologies in the future mobility market," it said.

Until now, Hyundai Mobis has focused on investing in its own research and development projects and investing in a stake in overseas companies with advanced mobility technologies.

The company has increased its R&D investments in recent years, with its R&D expenditures jumping to 965.4 billion won in 2019 from 696.8 billion won in 2016. It has developed its own radar sensor, camera systems for commercial vehicles and in-cabin sensing technologies, the statement said.

In direct stake investments, the company invested $50 million in Velodyne, a U.S. light detection and ranging (LiDAR) company, for autonomous driving technologies last year.

Yonhap