Hyundai Motor Invests in US Radar Company

Hyundai Motor is stepping up its efforts to build a global collaboration system to advance its autonomous driving technology.

Hyundai Motor made a decisive investment in Metawave, a US startup specializing in the development of radars, on May 16.

Metawave is a startup focusing on autonomous navigation radars and artificial intelligence. Since its establishment in Silicon Valley in 2017, the company has been growing fast and is called a “US edition of Mobileye.” Hyundai will jointly develop cutting-edge radar technology that corresponds to the "eyes" of autonomous navigation technology via this investment.

Metawave is developing a next-generation radar that has significantly improved accuracy and capability to recognize objects compared to previous radars. Hyundai plans to invest in sensor technology, the core technology for autonomous vehicles, by seeking active collaboration with Metawave with this investment as a beginning.

In particular, Hyundai Motor plans to further advance its capability to develop future technology at the group level by actively inducing the participation of affiliates including Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Autron in the joint development of next-generation radars.

This time, Hyundai Motor's investment was led by Hyundai Cradle, the US open innovation center in Strategic Technology Headquarters. Hyundai Cradle, located in Silicon Valley of the US, seeks to discover and nurture promising local start-ups, collaborating and conducting research and development with them.