Hyundai Motor Group Starts Saemangeum AI Data Center Project

Hyundai Motor Group has formally started work on the AI data center at the core of its roughly 9 trillion won (about $6.5 billion) "Saemangeum AI Valley" project. The company said on October 30 that key affiliates have made final investment decisions: Hyundai Motor, Kia, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Hyundai AutoEver.

Two special-purpose companies in November

The group will launch two special-purpose companies (SPCs) in November to run the project. A "data center SPC" will build the hyperscale infrastructure, while a "GPU service SPC" will operate high-performance GPU computing resources and software. According to the group, splitting the work in two is meant to raise specialization. Hyundai AutoEver has secured board approval to take part in the GPU service SPC.

Timeline and purpose

The group plans to move quickly through design and permitting, with construction scheduled to begin in March 2027 and formal service starting in early 2030.

The Saemangeum facility is intended to serve as a supercomputing hub for training Level 4 and higher autonomous driving algorithms, as well as for robotics and other "physical AI" and research and development work.

New site office opens

On the same day, the group opened the "HMG Saemangeum Office" at the Future Mobility Tech Center of the Korea Automotive Technology Institute in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province. The office will act as a one-stop point for permits, groundbreaking and communication with government ministries.

"We plan to break ground first on an AI data center capable of accumulating and learning from large-scale data in Saemangeum," said Shin Seung-kyu, executive vice president in charge of the group's RH PMO. He called the office "a symbol of our resolve to push the project forward without wavering."

The move shows Hyundai Motor Group building its own computing base for autonomous driving and robotics rather than relying only on outside capacity. The next milestones are the November launch of the two companies and the permitting steps ahead of the planned 2027 construction start.