Hyundai Motor and Kia’s ZER01NE Creative Talent Platform to Showcase 11 Transformative Startups at CES 2024

• ZER01NE bolsters Hyundai Motor Group’s global strategy to collaborate with new companies at an early stage and foster breakthrough technological advances
• ZER01NE Pavilion to showcase innovations from 11 startups, ranging from biodegradable plastic polymers to next-generation water-based batteries
• Exhibition to be open to the public in Venetian Expo, Hall G, Eureka Park from January 9–12

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation’s Creative Talent Platform, ZER01NE, will be taking part in CES 2024 from January 9–12, 2024. Both companies aim to promote the growth of ZER01NE startups and help them enter the global market by supporting their capabilities and creating potential collaboration and investment opportunities.

Launched in 2018, ZER01NE VENTURES is Hyundai Motor Group’s Creative Talent Platform that accelerates the growth of promising startups and nurtures internal venture startups for corporate spin-offs. To support their global expansion, the ZER01NE Pavilion will exhibit the platform participants’ innovations at Venetian Expo, Hall G, Eureka Park, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

ZER01NE VENTURES returns to CES in 2024, for the second consecutive year from 2023, with an expanded presence and higher quality content. Eleven incubated startups and their innovations will be shown to a global audience. ZER01NE VENTURES identifies startups worldwide based on the technology needs of Hyundai Motor and Kia’s research and development and business units. They support technology evaluations through proof-of-concept projects and invest in innovative startups.

This year’s externally nurtured startups include Green Whale Global, ARTWA, DEEP.FINE, Pebblous and Koop Technologies. This year’s in-house nurtured startups include APLAYZ, MOBINN, DATAMOND and POEN. Additionally, there are two H-OnDream startups, DAY1LAB and COSMOS Lab, from the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation, a prominent startup incubation program in Korea. Among the 11 startups, Green Whale Global, MOBINN, POEN and DAY1LAB are all Innovation Award winners.

ZER01NE VENTURES also operates an in-house venture program called Company Builder, which invests in employee-led innovation. Since its inception, 36 startups have successfully launched their businesses through this program.

By participating in CES 2024, ZER01NE aims to expand its presence in the global startup scene and establish more collaboration opportunities with innovative startups, venture capitalists, corporations and academic institutions. Through partnerships with creative talent and innovation partners worldwide, ZER01NE VENTURES hopes to strengthen Hyundai Motor and Kia’s open innovation efforts and contribute to the growth of the global startup ecosystem.

The 11 startups displaying within the ZER01NE pavilion at CES 2024 are:

Green Whale Global

Green Whale Global manufactures environmentally friendly biodegradable plastic materials and products. Biodegradable plastics completely decompose in their natural state, unlike traditional non-biodegradable plastics, and are recyclable and reusable. Green Whale Global produces cosmetic containers, non-woven products, 3D printer filaments, hangers, disposable items and plastic components for home appliances and automobiles.

ARTWA

ARTWA has developed a multi-purpose amphibious robot. This intelligent robot utilizes autonomous driving technology, enabling it to manage external environments and monitor indoor spaces without human presence. There are five types of intelligent robots: garbage collection, transportation, pipeline exploration, water quality management and chemical distribution.

DEEP.FINE

DEEP.FINE provides a solution for constructing real-world spatial information based on eXtended Reality (XR) technology, which encompasses virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. Deep.Fine utilizes wearable devices called ‘smart DEEP.FINE SPATIAL CRAFTER (DSC)’ to provide real-world business management solutions.

Pebblous

Pebblous offers a data clinic service dedicated to diagnosing and enhancing AI training data. The service transforms AI training data into an observable and measurable format, evaluates its quality, and improves it through the addition of synthetic data, ultimately enhancing AI performance. Pebblous plans to enter the global B2B SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) market through the sophistication of its services.

Koop Technologies

Koop Technologies provides customized insurance solutions for autonomous vehicles, robots and automation risks. They offer tools to analyze risks associated with autonomous vehicles and robots using various data and aim to develop insurance product standards that ensure consumer safety. It has licenses in over 30 states in the U.S. and has conducted partnerships with major insurance companies.

APLAYZ

APLAYZ provides an automatic music curation service optimized for different spaces. It automatically collects and analyzes real-time data from spaces to recommend suitable music tracks. APLAYZ aims to provide its service in all types of spaces such as buildings, stores and vehicles, and plans to quickly secure market share based on its high technology competitiveness and various business collaborations.

MOBINN

MOBINN offers specialized services in the last-mile delivery stage through its self-developed autonomous robots. Its autonomous driving technology based on wheels and LiDAR overcomes obstacles, allowing services without constraints of space and time.

DATAMOND

DATAMOND provides data-based marketing services based on customer preferences and tastes. It operates various services, including a data platform for collecting customer preference and taste information, an AI-based big data system for processing and analyzing collected information, and a transaction platform for trading processed information.

POEN

POEN’s energy solution reuses battery packs generated from electric vehicle (EV) disposal. After evaluating the aging condition and safety of high-voltage batteries, for those that can be used for automotive usage are recreated into AS materials, whereas for batteries that have value for other purposes are made into ESS and other energy storage systems to contribute to the recycling of materials.

DAY1LAB

DAY1LAB has pioneered the development of a groundbreaking plastic alternative known as "RETARCH." This innovative material is derived from a combination of starch and cellulose, sourced from upcycled food wastes and byproducts. RETARCH exhibits remarkable degradability under diverse conditions, including soil environments. Importantly, after degradation, RETARCH minimally generates microplastics, addressing a critical concern associated with traditional petrochemical plastics. This breakthrough positions RETARCH as a transformative material with the potential to fundamentally resolve the challenges linked to conventional plastics, notably by eliminating the issue of microplastic pollution.

COSMOS LAB

COSMOS LAB has developed a water battery that uses water as an electrolyte. Their battery has advantages such as no fire concerns, low carbon dioxide emissions, high efficiency and performance. COSMOS LAB plans to expand its business by producing custom battery cells for customers.