Hyundai Motor Group Spins Off Three In-House Startups, Bringing Total to 44

Positive Flow, Wearbi, and Jobis Nurtured by ZERO1NE Company Builder
Securing Innovative Technologies in Smart Mattresses, Industrial Safety, and Automotive Software

Three innovative startups that have grown through Hyundai Motor Group’s in-house venture incubation platform are officially entering the market.

Positive Flow logo. Hyundai Motor Group

Hyundai Motor Group announced on June 11 that Positive Flow, Wearbi, and Jobis—which were nurtured by the open innovation program ZERO1NE Company Builder through a year-long commercialization process—have spun off as independent companies.

Positive Flow is developing a smart mattress system designed to provide an optimal sleep environment. Artificial intelligence (AI) sensors attached to the mattress detect the user's sleep status and automatically adjust temperature and humidity to promote restful sleep. During the hot and humid summer, a built-in air system (fan) activates to lower the mattress’s temperature and humidity autonomously.

The system also offers smartphone connectivity: users can check sleep data collected by the mattress and directly control temperature and humidity through an application (app). Recently, the company has been discussing collaboration opportunities in the sleep tech field—with a focus on products and services that improve sleep quality using advanced technology—with Hyundai Engineering & Construction.

Wearbi is developing industrial safety technology based on high-precision positioning sensors. Sensors are attached to worker equipment such as helmets and vests, as well as to industrial vehicles including automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and trucks, enabling mutual exchange of ultra-wideband (UWB) signals. UWB technology uses gigahertz (GHz) bandwidth ultra-wideband frequencies, which face less interference than other signals, allowing for more accurate positioning compared to Bluetooth or near-field communication (NFC). The company is also developing a solution that connects a worker’s smartphone and industrial vehicles without additional sensor equipment.

Wearbi logo. Hyundai Motor Group

Wearbi’s business goal is to accurately identify the positions of people and vehicles within a margin of error of 10 centimeters, thus preventing collisions at worksites in advance. Since last year, the company has been conducting pilot projects to further refine its technology both internally and externally. A representative case is the pilot project at Kia’s Hwaseong PBV Conversion Center production line, aimed at preventing collisions between forklifts and workers.

Jobis is a startup specializing in automotive software (SW). To address the inconvenience of non-standardized specification writing and manual coding—which often led to errors in the traditional automotive industry—Jobis provides standard tools and automated coding programs necessary for vehicle software development.

Jobis’ software technology is expected to be particularly useful for automotive parts suppliers facing difficulties transitioning to software-defined vehicles (SDVs). Recently, the company completed proof-of-concept projects for developing software for electronic control units (ECUs) with Hyundai Motor and Kia partners, including DH Lighting, Pyung Hwa Holdings, and Keyang Electric Machinery.

With these three new spin-offs, the total number of in-house startups that have become independent from Hyundai Motor Group has increased to 44. Starting with the launch of the Venture Plaza in 2000, Hyundai Motor Group began discovering in-house startups and, since 2021, has expanded and reorganized its startup incubation program for employees through the ZERO1NE Company Builder.

Jobis Logo. Hyundai Motor Group

Startups selected by ZERO1NE Company Builder receive up to 300 million won in development funds. After a one-year period for product and service development and commercialization, they decide—together with the company—whether to spin off as independent entities or pursue in-house commercialization. To ease the burden on new entrepreneurs, reemployment within three years of the spin-off is also possible.

Roh Kyuseung, Executive Director of the ZERO1NE Office at Hyundai Motor and Kia’s Future Strategy Division, said, "We will continue to foster innovative and creative startups in various fields through active open innovation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.