Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s third-largest automaker by production volume, is making an aggressive push beyond traditional auto manufacturing with a $6.3 billion investment in robotics, artificial intelligence and hydrogen energy — a move that underscores how “physical AI” is rapidly becoming central to the future of car making.

On Feb. 27, 2026, the group announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the South Korean government and Jeonbuk State to establish a sweeping innovation hub. The project calls for a data center, a robot manufacturing complex and a large-scale hydrogen production base in Saemangeum, along the country’s lower western coastline, spanning approximately one million square meters.

Construction on the data center, solar power infrastructure and hydrogen facility is set to begin in 2027 and be completed in 2029. Construction on the robot manufacturing complex is scheduled to begin in 2028 and be completed within a year.

The largest share of the investment — approximately $4 billion — will fund the data center, which is expected to house up to 50,000 graphics processing units, providing computing power for autonomous driving systems, humanoid robotics and software-defined vehicles, according to the group.

“What we’re building in Saemangeum will reshape not just a region, but Korea’s industrial future,” said Jaehoon Chang, vice chair of Hyundai Motor Group. “Hyundai Motor Group brings together the manufacturing excellence, AI capabilities and hydrogen energy expertise needed to establish a truly advanced industrial ecosystem. This is how we translate our commitment to Progress for Humanity into reality.”

Hyundai’s strategy reflects a broader shift across the auto industry: Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to software labs or driver-assistance features. Increasingly, it is taking physical form on factory floors and beyond.

Tesla Inc., for example, is expected to spend more than $20 billion this year on AI and robotics, focusing on its Optimus general-purpose humanoid robot, an autonomous robotaxi and massive AI computing infrastructure. Robotaxi rides are already being offered in Austin, Texas. Optimus will be integrated into Tesla’s factory operations.

Other automakers are also accelerating their robotics ambitions. Mercedes-Benz has signed an agreement with the U.S.-based robotics company Apptronik to explore the feasibility of using humanoids to assist in vehicle assembly.

In November 2025, BMW completed an 11-month pilot program in which the Figure 02 humanoid robot assisted in the production of more than 30,000 vehicles at the company’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Figure’s headquarters is in Sunnyvale, California.

BMW also announced Feb. 27, 2026, that it will conduct a pilot program starting in the summer of 2026 at its Leipzig plant in Germany, utilizing another humanoid, AEON, produced by the Zurich-based company Hexagon. “The project aims to integrate humanoid robotics into existing series production of cars and to explore further applications in the production of batteries and components,” BMW stated in its February press release.

Arnaud Robert, president of Hexagon Robotics, said, “We are very pleased to be working with the BMW Group to advance the use of humanoid robots in real-world environments. The variety of the planned use cases will demonstrate the uniqueness of our sensor suite and the versatility of AEON. Together with BMW, we will continue to push the boundaries of physical AI.”

The global humanoid robot market could surpass $5 trillion in annual revenue by 2050, according to Morgan Stanley. The firm estimates there could be more than a billion humanoids worldwide by 2050, with 90 percent deployed for industrial and commercial purposes — a forecast that helps explain the intensity of the race now underway.

On Jan. 5, 2026, Hyundai unveiled its AI Robotics Strategy. It is built around three pillars: pairing humans with co-working robots; combining the robotics expertise of Boston Dynamics with Hyundai’s global manufacturing scale to create safe training grounds and an end-to-end AI robotics value chain; and collaborating with global AI pioneers to drive its vision of “Progress for Humanity.” Hyundai Motor Group holds an 88 percent stake in Boston Dynamics.

“Based on this strategy, Hyundai Motor Group plans to position itself as a human-centric leader in the physical AI industry by leveraging its groupwide value chain and extensive product portfolio. Physical AI refers to the tangible realization of technologies that collect data using hardware in real-world environments to make autonomous decisions — spanning areas such as robotics, smart factories and autonomous driving.”

The company aims to mass-produce the Atlas humanoid through its subsidiary Boston Dynamics and deploy it at industrial sites around the world, including at a plant near Savannah, Georgia. Ironically, that plant was left without much of its human workforce following a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on Sept. 4, 2025. Agents arrested 475 employees, including 300 South Korean nationals.

Hyundai plans to build a new robotics factory in the United States capable of producing 30,000 robots per year as part of a $26 billion investment in U.S. operations between 2025 and 2028.

“For more than 30 years, Boston Dynamics has been building some of the world’s most advanced robots,” said Robert Playter, CEO of Boston Dynamics. “This is the best robot we have ever built. Atlas is going to revolutionize the way industry works, and it marks the first step toward a long-term goal we have dreamed about since we were children — useful robots that can walk into our homes and help make our lives safer, more productive and more fulfilling.”