• Kyunghyun Cho, associate professor at New York University, to provide outside expertise on Hyundai and Kia’s development of AI technology
• With Professor Cho’s counsel, Hyundai and Kia will apply AI technology in the mobility industry and plan new business opportunities
• Hyundai and Kia to strengthen AI capabilities in strategic areas such as AI agents, machine translators, smart factories and mobility services

SEOUL, April 23, 2021 – Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation announced today the recruitment of Kyunghyun Cho, associate professor of computer science and data science at New York University. Professor Cho will provide outside expert counsel to strengthen the group’s development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and its application in the mobility industry.

Cho will work with researchers at AIRS Company, an organization dedicated to the development of Hyundai and Kia’s AI technologies and AI-based services. He will advise on the application of AI technology to the mobility industry, strategies to overcome the current limitations of AI technology, and the excavation of new AI-based business opportunities.

“We look forward to working with Professor Cho to explore ways to incorporate AI technology in the mobility industry,” said Jeong Hee Kim, Vice President and Head of AIRS Company. “Hyundai and Kia will continue to develop innovative technologies and cooperate with diverse global institutions to become a frontrunner in the future mobility industry.”

To pioneer the future of sustainable mobility, Hyundai and Kia are undergoing an ambitious transformation from automotive manufacturer to Smart Mobility Solution Provider and are engaged in various projects covering AI agents, machine translators, smart factories and mobility services.

As a renowned figure in the AI field, especially of machine learning and applied AI research, Cho is expected to elevate Hyundai and Kia’s expertise in AI technology research, helping the companies to proactively respond to the growing competition in future mobility development.

Cho earned a doctorate and master’s degree in computer science from Aalto University in Finland, and a bachelor’s degree from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). He developed a new simple yet effective algorithm that can resolve long-term dependency problems within recurrent neural networks (RNN).

Cho is also considered to have revolutionized AI translation services by developing a neural machine translation (NMT) algorithm that enables high-quality translation by understanding the overall context of the translated sentence, as well as to have shown achievements in the research of multimodal AI systems, a system that can learn different types of combined data such as text and images. Based on such outstanding research achievements, Cho was granted tenure at New York University in 2019.

Profile:

Professor Kyunghyun Cho (age 36)

Present:

• Associate Professor of computer science and data science at New York University
• Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Fellow of Learning in Machines & Brains

Career highlights:

• 2017-2020: Research scientist, Facebook AI Research
• 2014-2015: Post-doctoral researcher, University of Montreal
• 2014: PhD, Aalto University, Finland
• 2009: BS, KAIST, South Korea

About Hyundai Motor Group

Hyundai Motor Group is a global enterprise that has created a value chain based on mobility, steel, and construction, as well as logistics, finance, IT, and service.

With about 250,000 employees worldwide, the Group's mobility brands include Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. Armed with creative thinking, cooperative communication and the will to take on any challenges, we strive to create a better future for all.

More information about Hyundai Motor Group, please see: www.hyundaimotorgroup.com

Kia Corporation – about us

Kia (www.kia.com) is a global mobility brand with a vision to create sustainable mobility solutions for consumers, communities, and societies around the world. Founded in 1944, Kia has been providing mobility solutions for more than 75 years. With 52,000 employees worldwide, a presence in more than 190 markets, and manufacturing facilities in six countries, the company today sells around three million vehicles a year. Kia is spearheading the popularization of electrified and battery electric vehicles and developing a growing range of mobility services, encouraging millions of people around the world to explore the best ways of getting around. The company's brand slogan – ‘Movement that inspires’ – reflects Kia’s commitment to inspire consumers through its products and services.

For more information, visit the Kia Global Media Center at www.kianewscenter.com

Contact:

Jin Cha

Global PR Team / Hyundai Motor Group

sjcar@hyundai.com

+82 2 3464 2128