Kia Motors

Electrifying passenger and commercial travel

EV Economy

Rimac Automobili is a Croatian electric sports car developer. The company’s latest model Nevera has a range of around 550 km (340 miles) and a top speed of 258 mph. Rimac also develops and produces battery packs, drivetrain systems, and vehicles for other automakers. Some notable customers include Aston Martin, Jaguar, and SEAT. The company launched its Nevera EV in Singapore in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23988">October 2023</a>, with plans to manufacture 150 units.Rimac operates multiple offices, R&amp;D centers, and manufacturing facilities across Croatia and the UK. The company’s 37,000-square-meter facility in Zagreb, Croatia, houses Nevera’s production line. Rimac was also in the process of developing a single location for all its Croatian operations in Zagreb. The new facility, Rimac Campus, was scheduled to be completed in 2023.&nbsp;&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsIn November 2021, Rimac Group and Porsche formed a JV that involved the latter’s Bugatti brand. The new venture, Bugatti Rimac, will focus on joint R&amp;D but operate independently as Rimac Automobili and Bugatti Automobiles. Rimac has a 55% stake in the JV.&nbsp;In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23988">October 2023</a>, Rimac partnered with Wearnes Automotive, a leading automotive distributor, to launch the Rimac Nevera EV in Singapore.Funding and financialsIn June 2022, Rimac raised EUR 500 million (~USD 536 million) in a Series D funding round led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 and Goldman Sachs. The funding will be used to hire employees, build a USD 200 million campus for Rimac’s headquarters in Zagreb and to develop and produce batteries, software and other components for EVs. Previously, in March 2021, Rimac raised EUR 70 million from Porsche Ventures and in May 2019, raised USD 90 million from Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors.

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 Arrival is a UK-based company that manufactures electric passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. This includes the &ldquo;Arrival Car,&rdquo; which the company intended for ride-hailing and car-sharing services; the &ldquo;Arrival XL Van,&rdquo; an urban utility vehicle; and the &ldquo;Arrival Bus,&rdquo; which can be tailored to community requirements.&nbsp;
 
 
 Furthermore, the company&rsquo;s vehicles have embedded telematics for data collection from an array of sensors. This enables vehicle owners to track real-time and historic location, speed, and other data. The vehicles can also be analyzed for health faults and incidents.
 
 
 Arrival intended to manufacture these EVs through a decentralized microfactory network that uses cell-based robotic assembly. These microfactories will be located in areas of demand using existing commercial spaces or warehouses. They will be operational within six months of readying a site. The vehicles will be manufactured from proprietary composite materials, which are low-cost, 50% lighter than steel, durable, and resistant to damage.
 
 
 Arrival began testing its buses at a facility in December 2021. Furthermore, in September 2022, the company reported that it produced the first production verification vehicle at its Bicester Microfactory.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 Arrival&rsquo;s latest funding was in 
 <a href="https://arrival.com/news/">
 September 2023
 </a>
 , when the company secured bridge financing of up to USD 50 million from Antara Capital and Highbridge Capital Management. The funds were to be used as working capital or to explore a potential sale. Prior to this in March 2023, the company established a USD 300 million equity financing line with Westwood Capital. In April 2023, the company was listed on the Nasdaq through a SPAC merger. The combined company was valued at USD 524 million. However, in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26530">
 February 2024
 </a>
 , Arrival reported its delisting from Nasdaq due to its inability to produce its annual statements for 2022. During the same month, the company also reported that it filed for bankruptcy.
 
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<div>
 
 Factorial Energy develops solid-state batteries, which the company claims offer up to 50% greater driving range compared to lithium-ion batteries. The company launched a 40 ampere-hour solid-state battery cell prototype in April 2021. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15608">
 January 2023
 </a>
 , Factorial unveiled its first 100 Amp-Hour (Ah) battery cell that was developed as part of the joint development agreement formed between Factorial and Stellantis in November 2021. This solid-state battery is expected to deliver up to 30% higher energy density compared to conventional lithium-ion, thus enabling the possibility for a longer driving range or less weight.
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18859">
 May 2023
 </a>
 , Factorial received the United Nations (UN) 38.3 safety certification for its large-format automotive solid-state batteries. This enables Factorial to ship its 100+Ah cells globally to customers and partners. Following this in 
 <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005300023/en/Factorial-Ships-A-Samples-of-100Ah-Lithium-Metal-Solid-State-Battery-to-Automotive-Partners">
 October 2023,
 </a>
 the company shipped A-samples of its 100+ Ah Factorial Electrolyte System Technology solid-state battery cells to automotive partners such as Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai Motor Group, and Stellantis for testing.
 
 
 Factorial commenced operations at its battery manufacturing unit in Methuen, Massachusetts in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23392">
 October 2023
 </a>
 , following an investment of USD 50 million. The facility will accommodate a production capacity of up to 200 MWh and stands to be the largest solid-state battery assembly line in the US. The company also expanded its 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15228">
 operations
 </a>
 into South Korea and Japan over 2022. Furthermore inn March 2023, Factorial established a European subsidiary in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17340">
 Germany
 </a>
 .
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Factorial Energy has entered into joint agreements with leading automotive manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, and Kia to commercialize its batteries.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 Factorial Energy&rsquo;s most recent funding was in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8188">
 January 2022
 </a>
 , when it raised USD 200 million in a Series D round led by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis. The company came out of stealth in April 2021, raising USD 40 million in a Series A round, followed by an undisclosed Series B round in October 2021. The proceeds were to be utilized for the commercialization of its solid-state battery tech for EVs.
 
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<div>
 
 SolidEnergy Systems (SES) is a lithium-metal battery developer and manufacturer of battery cells for EVs. SES hybrid Li-metal batteries replace the graphite anode with lithium-metal to improve energy density (to around 400 Wh/kg). SES also uses a hybrid electrolyte&mdash;the battery has a solid protective coating on the lithium-metal anode and a liquid in the cathode, unlike some solid-state batteries (Solid Power and QuantumScape) that are all-solid and free of any liquid. The company&rsquo;s battery is expected to enable a longer driving range (around 500&ndash;600 miles) and is also capable of reaching an 80% charge in under 15 minutes. In 2021, SES was the first company to introduce 100Ah Li-metal cells, globally.
 
 
 SES&rsquo; large format Li-metal EV and eVTOL cells known as &ldquo;Apollo&rdquo; can be customized for different OEM requests. As such, the company has begun pilot-scale manufacturing of 50Ah to 100Ah Li-Metal cells with GM, Hyundai, and Honda at their Shanghai (China) and Chungju (Korea) battery manufacturing facilities. The company aims to commercialize its batteries by 2025. SES 
 <a href="https://investors.ses.ai/news/news-details/2023/SES-to-Host-Battery-World-2023-and-Announce-Worlds-First-Automotive-B-sample-JDA-for-Li-Metal/default.aspx">
 expects
 </a>
 to establish the world&rsquo;s first B-sample Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with an automotive OEM in December 2023.
 
 
 &nbsp;
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In February 2023, SES received an undisclosed amount of cash grants from the South Korean Central Government. Prior to this in April 2021, the company raised USD 139 million in a Series D funding round led by General Motors, while in July 2021, it raised USD 100 million from Hyundai.&nbsp;
 
 
 SES was listed on NYSE through a SPAC merger in February 2022. The deal raised USD 275 million at a valuation of USD 3.6 billion. The proceeds were to be used to accelerate growth and fund key development initiatives.&nbsp;
 
 
 
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Quantum information processing is slowly becoming a reality, ushering in a new technological era.

Quantum Computing

<div>
 
 IonQ develops general-purpose quantum computers using trapped-ion technology. Although the company calls itself a full-stack player, its focus has been on developing hardware. In December 2020, it revealed its quantum roadmap that introduced its new metric, &ldquo;algorithmic qubits (AQ),&rdquo; which represents the largest number of qubits that can be deployed while maintaining high performance and considering error correction. Its latest system IonQ Aria achieved 20 AQ, as of May 2023. In terms of physical qubits, IonQ&rsquo;s latest hardware had 32 qubits, which were expected to hold 22 AQs. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23125">
 October 2023
 </a>
 , the company achieved 29 algorithmic qubits (AQ) using barium qubits for the first time.
 
 
 Founded in 2015, IonQ&rsquo;s main competitive advantage stems from its approach to designing qubits that allow computers to be operated at room temperature with lower error rates.&nbsp;
 
 
 IonQ unveiled the industry&rsquo;s first glass-based trapped ion computing chip called the Reconfigurable Multicore Quantum Architecture (RMQA) technology, in August 2021, which the company believes will significantly expand the longevity of qubits and enable at least triple-digit scalability.&nbsp;
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31824">
 July 2024
 </a>
 , the company unveiled an accelerated roadmap with expanded 2025 technical milestones, focused on improving native two-qubit gate performance to over 99.9% (three 9s) in 2025, with further gains expected in 2026 from the transition to barium qubits.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 IonQ has entered several strategic partnership including with&nbsp;
 
 
 1) 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25925">
 Rescale
 </a>
 (January 2024) to combine their cloud computing and quantum computing capabilities
 
 
 2) 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22265">
 Air Force Research Lab
 </a>
 (September 2023) to deploy two barium-based trapped ion quantum computing systems for quantum networking research and application development in a deal valued at USD 25.5 million
 
 
 3) 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21158">
 BearingPoint
 </a>
 (August 2023) to offer its quantum systems and related professional services to the European market
 
 
 4) SoftBank Investment Advisers (June 2021) to provide support in deploying the company&rsquo;s quantum systems globally
 
 
 5) Accenture (September 2021) to accelerate the industrial application of IonQ&rsquo;s quantum systems
 
 
 The company offers access to its quantum computer via all major quantum cloud computing platforms including Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Marketplace (GCM). It is also integrated with major software development kits (SDK) including IBM Qiskit and Google Cirq. In May 2023, IonQ began offering its IonQ Aria system on Amazon Braket.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker &ldquo;IONQ,&rdquo; in October 2021 via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger. The IPO raised more than USD 650 million and made IonQ the first publicly traded pure-play quantum computing company.&nbsp;It earned a revenue of USD 22 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.
 
 
 The company secured Samsung&rsquo;s first-ever quantum computing investment (co-led by a UAE wealth fund) of USD 55 million in 2019. IonQ believes it can tap into Samsung&rsquo;s expertise in miniaturization to shrink quantum computing components.
 
</div>

Autonomous and connected technologies shaping the future of the auto industry

Auto Tech

Sonatus is a software-defined vehicle technology company that helps automotive manufacturers and suppliers to accelerate the development and deployment of software-defined vehicles. Its product portfolio includes the following:1) Sonatus Foundation: A software-defined vehicle platform that provides a unified software architecture for the entire vehicle. This allows automakers to update software and add new features to their vehicles, without the need for hardware changes.2) Sonatus Automator: A suite of no-code vehicle software development tools, including a software development environment, a test suite, and a deployment platform that helps automotive manufacturers and suppliers develop and deploy software for vehicles.3) Sonatus Collector: A vehicle data analytics platform for collecting, storing, and analyzing vehicle data to generate insights and improve vehicle performance, safety, and reliability.4) Sonatus Guard: A cybersecurity platform for IoT-enabled vehicles for multi-layered intrusion detection and prevention.Sonatus pitches its product toward automotive manufacturers, Tier-1 suppliers, and software developers, on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) basis. The company is headquartered in California and has offices in Michigan, Europe (Ireland, France, and Italy), and Asia (China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan).Key customers and partnershipsSonatus’ customers include automakers and Tier-1 suppliers such as Kia Motors, Genesis Motor, and Hyundai.The company also has partnerships with tech companies including Marvell Technology, Broadcom, Micron Technology, NXP, Realtek, and STMicroelectronics for core technologies such as Ethernet switches, processors, storage, and data infrastructure tools. Its cloud partners include AWS, Elastic, Google Cloud, and Microsoft.Funding and financials<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21600">In September 2023, </a>Sonatus received a strategic investment from NEC and Translink Orchestrating Future Fund to strengthen its ties with Japanese electronics companies and vehicle manufacturers to support its expansion in Japan. Previously, in December 2022, the company raised USD 75 million in a Series A funding round led by Foxconn to expand its software-defined vehicle technologies into new markets and additional customers.Key competitors: None comparable (Sonatus is the only startup in the Auto Tech space that offers an overall connected solution for vehicles that span across several key segments.)

A new generation of building blocks for emerging tech

Next-gen Semiconductors

Tenstorrent is a company that develops AI processors, licenses AI and RISC-V IP, and builds computers for artificial intelligence applications. Founded in 2016 in Toronto, Canada, Tenstorrent has expanded its operations with offices in the US, Japan, and other global locations. The company offers a range of products including AI processors, RISC-V CPU cores, and chiplets designed for various applications from edge devices to data centers.
Tenstorrent's product line includes the Grayskull processor, announced in 2020, which was designed to accelerate AI model training in data centers and edge servers. The company has since shifted its focus to licensing and services, launching DevCloud in 2021, a cloud-based service allowing developers to run AI models without purchasing hardware. Tenstorrent's latest offering, the Wormhole processor, was unveiled in July 2024. The Wormhole n300 board, featuring dual chips, delivers up to 466 FP8 TFLOPS at 300W, positioning it as a competitive option in the AI hardware market.
The company's technology strategy involves developing both AI accelerators and RISC-V CPU designs, setting it apart from many competitors in the field. Tenstorrent's approach includes creating flexible and scalable solutions, with processors capable of merging to function as a single unit in various configurations. This scalability operates natively without the need for virtualization, allowing for efficient deployment in both workstation and data center environments.
Tenstorrent has also focused on developing its own RISC-V cores, aiming to create a second revenue stream through licensing. The company's Ascalon RISC-V CPU core technology is being leveraged in collaborations with partners to develop RISC-V CPU chiplets for edge AI accelerators. In February 2024, Tenstorrent announced a partnership with Japan's Leading-edge Semiconductor Technology Center (LSTC) to co-design a 2nm edge AI accelerator using Tenstorrent's RISC-V and chiplet IP.

42dot is a technology company pioneering frictionless transportation services.  42dot develops technologies and platforms integrating autonomous driving, connected vehicles, and smart city infrastructure. The company provides platforms facilitating Mobility-as-a-Service, allowing users to access various transportation modes (e.g., autonomous shuttles, and ride-sharing) through a unified digital interface.

Koop is an insurance technology company protecting the world from a new generation of risks.  We pioneered an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Automation platform that consolidates insurance, compliance, and security in one place for technology risks. Commercial enterprises improve security posture, simplify compliance, and save on insurance costs with Koop. Our suite of insurance coverages includes General Liability, Technology Errors & Omissions, Cyber Liability, Commercial Auto, and more.  To date, Koop has raised $7M in venture funding from AlleyCorp, Ubiquity Ventures, Bee Partners, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation.  To learn more, please visit our website at www.koop.ai.

Tenstorrent is enabling a new era in AI and deep learning with its breakthrough processor architecture and software. The company’s mission is to deliver orders of performance and efficiency for AI workloads from the data center to the edge of the Cloud by co-designing hardware, software, and AI algorithms with their technology. Tenstorrent’s architecture scales from datacenter servers to IoT devices with improved efficiency, flexibility, programmability compared to legacy accelerators including CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and TPU-type processors. It is developed by their team with expertise in computer architecture, hardware design and verification, systems engineering, compilers, software development, and machine learning algorithms. Tenstorrent is backed by Venture Capital firms including Real Ventures and Eclipse Venture Capital, as well as prominent industry luminaries.

BOS Semiconductors develops semiconductor technology for the automotive industry.

Gbike is a mobility sharing startup in Korea, innovating green urban mobility in Korea where currently car-centric environment. Our service includes bike and scooter sharing with IT services specialized for Korean market & Asia, Pacifics.

SolidEnergy manufactures rechargeable cells at a pilot scale for prototype demonstration and specialized aerospace markets.  But their real future lies in the materials they supply—anodes and electrolyte—for mainstream markets such as consumer electronics and electric vehicles. They supply these to large Li-ion cell manufacturers to be integrated with a separator and cathode into full cells which can be customized for different applications including drones, consumer electronics, and electric vehicles. Because their anode and electrolyte materials are compatible with existing Li-ion cell manufacturing processes, they can achieve scalability by using existing infrastructure. This eliminates the need for costly infrastructure investment. It’s all part of their open ecosystem. It means a more seamless end-user experience, faster prototyping, and no limits to growth.

HiiROC is an industrial company that produces hydrogen from biomethane, flare gas, or natural gas with no CO2 emissions. The company's proprietary technology enables low-cost, zero-emission hydrogen production at a cost comparable to steam methane reforming but without the emissions and using one-fifth of the energy required by water electrolysis. Its zero-emission carbon black can replace that made by the existing high-emission/pollution oil furnace production method. HiiROC is pioneering a new approach to methane cracking that produces solid carbon rather than CO2 emissions and thus does not contribute to global warming.

Factorial Energy (''Factorial'') has pioneered a new solid-state electrolyte material battery technology, FEST™ (Factorial Electrolyte System Technology™). Factorial will bring a more powerful battery product with longer range and higher degree of safety to the global electric vehicle (EV) market.

J'CAR is a hydrogen and electric car sharing service company.

Awto is the largest Latam car sharing startup (with +350 shared cars) focused on reducing the carbon footprint of south-american cities and changing the mentality of car owners by providing mobility as a service.

IONQ develops general-purpose quantum information processors to solve the world’s complex problems. Its unique trapped ion approach combines unmatched physical performance, perfect qubit replication, optical networkability, and highly optimized algorithms to create a quantum computer that is as scalable as it is powerful and that will support a broad array of applications across a variety of industries. It was founded in 2015 and is based in College Park, Maryland.

Sonatus delivers technology and solutions that accelerate vehicle software innovation. Their platforms and products serve as key building blocks that allow automotive companies and their ecosystem to deliver continuous improvements in costs, capabilities, reliability, and user experience over the vehicle lifespan, realizing the promise of software-defined vehicles.

DATAMOND is an AI-based data platform that collects, analyzes, and sells zero-party data services to B2C industries.

Banksalad is a fintech company that develops financial applications.

Finda is a data-driven loan comparison platform. They offer customized financial services and plan to grow into a company that provides financial information tailored to individuals in a timely manner by combining data from different industries, such as the automobile finance market.

Coconut Silo is Hyundai Motor Group’s in-house startup. As a mobility startup, our solutions are mainly based on mobility. CocoTruck is a smart solution that enables users to get their orders in 5 minutes. Using our algorithm specialized in cargo tracing and route visualization, customers can track their cargo owners, logistic companies, and drivers in real-time.

Arrival is a technology company that develops a generation of two electric vehicles. It develops software, materials, components, and scalable skateboard platforms and its micro-factories allow them to make vehicles and adapt to any mobility ecosystem. It is a zero-emission solution for cities and a human-centered, intelligent design to revitalize public transportation. The company’s new method uses low CapEx, rapidly scalable Microfactories that can be placed anywhere in the world to serve the regions they are located in. It was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in London, England.

Ola Electric Mobility engages in the leasing of electric cars. It offers shared daily mobility and deploys charging and battery swapping networks that focus on the commercial electric vehicle segment to make electric mobility convenient, dependable, and affordable. Ankit Jain and Anand Shah founded Ola Electric Mobility on May 26, 2017. It has its headquarters in Bengaluru, India.

macaron TAXI (KST Intelligence) is a cab chauffeur app

Macaron M is a mobile application that offers taxi services.

Rimac is a technology powerhouse that manufactures electric hypercars and provides full technology solutions to global automotive manufacturers. Founded in 2009 with headquarters in Croatia, Rimac started as a garage project and grew into a globally recognized technology leader, built upon the passion and vision of the company's Founder and CEO Mate Rimac. It has challenged the status-quo with the vision to revolutionize and reinvent the sports car with its unique technology thus successfully tackling the electrification challenge set upon the automotive industry.

Ola operates a mobile technology platform that integrates city transportation for customers and driver partners in India. Its mobile application allows its customers to book a range of cabs, auto-rickshaws, bikes, and shuttle buses.  Ola's mobile application allows customers to book city taxi, outstation travel, car rental, and corporate travel services. Its mobile application is available on Windows, Android, and iOS platforms.  Ankit Bhati and Bhavish Aggarwal founded Ola on December 1, 2010. It has its headquarters with additional offices in Bengaluru in India.

Kia Motors is a manufacturer of quality motor vehicles that is commits to surpass customer expectations. The company was founded in 1944 as Korea’s first manufacturer of motor vehicles.

<div> Kia Corporation (or Kia, KRX: 000270) is one of South Korea&rsquo;s oldest motor vehicle manufacturers and the fifth-largest vehicle manufacturer in the world (2024), with 14 manufacturing and assembly operations across eight countries. Kia&rsquo;s total revenue amounted to KRW 99.8 trillion in 2023 (~USD 76 billion). Kia&rsquo;s primary products can be categorized as RVs (recreational vehicles), Passenger Cars, and Commercial Vehicles, which include a range of electric vehicles. The company also offers a range of services through its owner&rsquo;s portal, including Maintenance Plans, Kia Connect, and eServices, as well as accessories such as electronics, interior, exterior, care and style, and paint pens. Kia&rsquo;s geographical market is spread across five primary regions: North America (~41% of total revenue), Europe (~24%), South Korea (~19%), Rest of the World (~10%), and India (~6%). The company expects total revenue in 2024 to amount to KRW 101.1 trillion, with operating profit at KRW 12.0 trillion (KRW 11.6 trillion in 2023) and sales of wholesale units at 3.2 million (3.1 million in 2023). Kia aims to achieve a 40% reduction in indirect GHG emissions by 2040 (from a 2016 baseline) and reach 100% electrification by 2045. </div>

Kia Corporation

Kia Motors Invites Applications for New Dealerships – Apply Online Now!

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 Kia Corporation is introducing a new strategy, Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV), which focuses on the Kia Concept PV5 - a fit-for-purpose EV based on Hyundai's software-to-everything principle. The multistage strategy starts with PV5, a versatile EV adaptable to ride-hailing, deliveries and utilities. The plan stresses on enhanced data connectivity and automated collection of external data. Later phases include a dedicated PBV model line-up, and AI-supported mobility platforms for an interactive user experience. The company also plans different PV5 variants like "Basic," "Van," "High Roof," and "Chassis Cab," including a Motional-developed robotaxi model for autonomous ride-hailing.&nbsp;
</div>

Kia Corporation

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