Autonomous a2z "mass production of autonomous driving cars by 2027... Unmanned buses and vacuum cleaners > News (주)오토노머스에이투지

Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung Autonomous a2z, an autonomous driving startup founded by four people from Hyundai Motor, will start mass production of autonomous vehicles in 2027. It is a large-scale project that will start full-scale development from next year and will cost about 200 billion won to establish the factory. The ultimate goal is to become a global conglomerate that covers everything from software to hardware in the autonomous driving field.

◆Leave a large company to start a business. Attract 16 billion won investment

Han Ji-hyeong, CEO of Autonomous a2z (pictured), left Hyundai Motor, where he had worked for 11 years, and established the company in July 2018. Its mission is to develop all technologies from a to z such as recognition, judgment, and control necessary for autonomous driving and to be reborn as an autonomous driving platform company. Four members, including him, who were in charge of developing autonomous driving at Hyundai Motor Company, joined forces and jumped into the startup business. They were selected as industry professors at Kyungil University in Gyeongsan, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and were able to run their businesses under relatively stable conditions while receiving support from the school's start-up program. For this reason, the head office is located in Kyungil University.

Thanks to its unrivaled technological prowess and know-how, it has generated sales through government research and development (R&D) tasks and technical services since its inception. Representative Han, who met at the Anyang Central Research Center in Gyeonggi-do, said, "We have an autonomous driving solution that acts as a human brain, so we made an autonomous vehicle in a short period of time and received certification from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. After that, I got the spotlight,” he said.

The company succeeded in attracting 16 billion won of Series A investment last month. In the early days of the founding, he has built up his achievements and skills while rejecting investment proposals. CEO Han said, “I have seen many cases where businesses are pushed forward because of the burden of producing results within a year or two if they receive investment from the beginning of the business. I chose to focus,” he said. Several investors, including KB Investment, Korea Investment Partners, KN Investment Partners, Enlight Ventures, Kakao Mobility, and Kakao Investment, paid attention to Autonomous a2z.

◆ Targeting the unmanned special purpose vehicle market

 The company expects sales this year to reach 5 billion won, more than triple that of last year (1.4 billion won). In the first half of the year, sales reached 30 billion won. CEO Han said, “This is thanks to the active progress of smart city and autonomous driving demonstration projects in each local government. Currently, self-driving vehicle demonstration projects are underway in Sejong, Ulsan, and Gwangju. Through funding, the company will invest 200 billion won over five years from next year to start a project that encompasses self-driving car planning, design, and mass production. It is in line with the government innovation project to accelerate the commercialization of level 4 or higher autonomous vehicles by 2027.

A company's revenue comes from business-to-business or inter-governmental transactions (B2B, B2G). Therefore, it is concentrating on the development of unmanned and autonomous driving of special-purpose vehicles such as shuttle buses, village buses, and logistics and cleaning vehicles that move within a limited area. The goal is to introduce self-driving cars as a means of transportation needed for the public good or in areas where people are reluctant to work. CEO Han said, "It is possible to conduct business without invading private businesses or taking jobs, such as operating unmanned autonomous driving village buses in local governments whose floating population is shrinking due to population decline." As the goal is to be a fully driverless vehicle without a steering wheel, safety is the top priority.

CEO Han emphasized the importance of collaboration with companies and the government. It is said that it is impossible for a company to make an autonomous vehicle that is a combination of various technologies and hardware. CEO Han said, "Korea has enough technology to enable global conglomerates such as Tesla and Apple to emerge. He continued, "Utilizing autonomous driving technology, we will target the market for special-purpose vehicles such as unmanned shuttle buses and unmanned vacuum cleaners that move within a limited area, even targeting overseas expansion."