BEIJING: Hyundai Motor Group has completed its creation of a global innovation network with the establishment of Hyundai CRADLE Beijing.
With sites in Seoul, Berlin, Tel Aviv, and Silicon Valley, the China office is the fifth centre in the network, which exists to explore and utilize various innovation opportunities and business models in China to contribute the growth of Hyundai’s new business.
As the group’s open innovation and corporate venturing business, Hyundai CRADLE invests extensively in promising global startups and creating partnerships that boost the development of prospective services, systems, and complementary research opportunities.
CRADLE Beijing will construct an interactive business and investment collaborations with leading Information Communications Technology companies, start-ups, government institutions, key universities, investment institutions and other strategic partners in China while contributing to global efforts to foster ‘disruptive innovation’.
“As the world moves from an information technology era to one focused on data technology, CRADLE Beijing will set up an open innovation interactive platform in China to fully interact with local innovation networks,” said Hyundai CRADLE Beijing head Peter Yang.
“CRADLE Beijing will be a harbour for sharing innovation solutions that originated in China around the world.”
China is the world’s largest automotive market and has one of the largest start-up cultures globally, making it the ideal location for Hyundai Motor Group’s fifth CRADLE office.
Beijing’s innovation credentials are strong as it hosts China’s youth entrepreneurship district, named ‘Zhongguancun’ and a high concentration of investment institutions.
The Chinese capital is also the birthplace of innovation policy.
“To foster Hyundai Motor Group’s transformation from a vehicle-centric manufacturer to a lifetime provider of mobility solutions for our customers, we must identify and incentivize ideas that extended beyond our traditional patterns of business and break into new territory in vehicle design and lifestyle-centric offerings,” said Hyundai CRADLE Silicon Valley head John Suh.
“Our global CRADLE network will foster the development of new technologies that enable improvements of how people move, lowering of environmental impact, and the increase in productivity and happiness for all.”
Hyundai has a track record for future technology partnerships in China.
In 2018, it co-published plans for a hydrogen energy fund with Tsinghua University, while in March this year it invested in Deep GLINT — a Chinese AI startup.
