Korean automaker Hyundai Motor announced Tuesday that it was partnering with Israel's Autotalks, a semiconductor company that develops vehicle-to-vehicle communications in autonomous cars so as to improve road safety.
Founded in 2008, Autotalks is a privately held company with strong financial backing from leading global venture capital funds. The company is headquartered in Israel with offices in North America, Germany, France, Sweden, Japan and South Korea.
Hyundai said it was forming a strategic partnership with Autotalks to accelerate the development of the next generation chipset for connected cars.
The South Korean auto giant did not disclose the size of the investment but an Israeli industry source said it amounted to several million dollars.
Hyundai said it is expanding partnerships for connectivity technology vital to autonomous driving.
In manned vehicles, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems convey important information to the driver in the form of alerts and notifications while in autonomous vehicles it complements existing sensors, allowing them to make more informed decisions.
"Having a top global car manufacturer such as Hyundai invest directly in Autotalks is not only a vote of confidence in the company, but a testament to the growing V2X market," Autotalks CEO Hagai Zyss said.
"Hyundai's pursuit of cutting-edge communication and safety technologies is a perfect match with Autotalks' leading V2X capabilities. The funding from Hyundai will fuel Autotalks' technology roadmap as well as support our customers and partners all over the globe."
Prior to Hyundai's investment, Autotalks had raised more than $80 million.
"Connectivity is one of the core technologies that can be applied to smart city business models, as well as autonomous driving and infotainment. Hyundai Motor will continue to invest in technologies that are in line with Hyundai's current and future strategic pillars," Yunseong Hwang,
director of open innovation business group at Hyundai, said.
