*This content was translated by AI.
Hyundai Motor Group has taken out a huge card for future mobility and AI and robotics innovation. Following Dr. Park Min-woo from Tesla and Nvidia, who was appointed as the head of the AVP division and the representative of FortituDot, Milan Kovac, an authority in the field of AI and robotics, has decided to recruit him. Analysts say that Chairman Chung Eui-sun's will to gain future competitiveness is well revealed.
Hyundai Motor Group announced on the 16th that it has hired Milan Kovac, who led the development of AI and robotics from Tesla, as a group advisor and has begun the process of appointing an outside director of Boston Dynamics.
The appointment of Milan Kovac is said to be a decision by Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun about his confidence and strategic confidence in the competitiveness of "Physical AI" in his New Year's address this year. Chairman Chung emphasized that he has a chance of winning in physical AI by utilizing his original competitiveness as a manufacturing powerhouse, and expressed his strong will to realize technology internalization and global market leadership.
At CES 2026, Hyundai Motor Group unveiled a robotics ecosystem and AI advancement strategy in which humans and robots cooperate, and introduced the humanoid robot "Atlas," drawing attention from all over the world.
Hyundai Motor Group explains that the recruitment, which includes Dr. Park Min-woo from Tesla and Nvidia, who was recently appointed as the head of the Advanced Platform (AVP) and the CEO of FortituDot, and Milan Kovac, is the first time Hyundai Motor Group has signaled a realization of the future of "bringing laboratory technology into human life" beyond simple recruitment of talent.
Since joining Tesla in 2016, Milan Kovac has until recently been responsible for developing Autopilot, an autonomous system, and Optimus, a humanoid robot. Based on his AI and SW expertise, he is considered a key leader in leading Tesla's technological innovation in various device areas such as vehicles and robotics.
In particular, he led Autopilot software engineering from 2019 to 2022, leading the development of the second generation of Autopilot, as a key player in making Autopilot an essential feature of daily driving. Through the integration of its own chip-based HW and the establishment of an autonomous driving full stack centered on computer vision, it presented a benchmark for autonomous driving technology in the global automobile industry.
Since 2022, he has worked with Autopilot on humanoid robot development as Optimus Engineering Director. By incorporating vision-based end-to-end learning, which was applied to vehicles, into robots, it contributed to Tesla's expansion of the AI ecosystem even before physical AI became an industry hot topic.
In particular, he was promoted to vice president (VP) in 2024, generating various results from the initial concept stage to the actual factory test operation. As a result of this, when Milan Kovac left Tesla in June last year, Elon Musk said, "Thank you for your contribution to Tesla over the past decade. It was an honor to work together," he said, leaving a message in person.
The industry predicts that Hyundai Motor Group will emerge as the "most notable company in the era of physical AI." In fact, Hyundai Motor's stock price growth is approaching 40% this year as it has continued its record-high rally since unveiling the next-generation humanoid Atlas at CES 2026.
As an advisor to Hyundai Motor Group and outside director of Boston Dynamics, Milan Kovac is expected to focus on developing and accelerating production of strategies and technologies for the group's future business response, physical AI, and intelligent robots.
In particular, Boston Dynamics is expected to strengthen its position in the global robotics market by accelerating the commercialization of key product lines such as Atlas, Spot, and Stretch by utilizing Milan Kovac's full-stack engineering capabilities covering all areas of AI, software and hardware.
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*This content was translated by AI.
