Hankook & Company to acquire autonomous driving unit of 3Secondz

Hankook & Company headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi [HANKOOK & COMPANY]

Hankook & Company will acquire the autonomous driving unit of start-up 3Secondz, the company said Tuesday.

The investment size has not been disclosed, but the company confirmed that the deal will be finalized before mid-March.

Engineers and staff members at 3Secondz's self-driving unit will be transferred to Hankook & Company.

With the acquisition, Hankook & Company will be able to apply self-driving technologies when conducting vehicle road tests. Doing so, they will be able to collect more data than when drivers are present, the company said.

Established in 2016, 3Secondz is a start-up that develops technologies for autonomous vehicles based on advanced driving data.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]