LG Innotek (011070.KS) is expanding beyond autonomous driving into "physical AI" fields such as robots and drones. President Moon Hyuk-soo of LG Innotek met directly with the head of a Silicon Valley unicorn (a startup valued at more than $1 billion) to strengthen strategic cooperation aimed at seizing leadership in the future mobility ecosystem.
LG Innotek announced Thursday that President Moon Hyuk-soo met with Qasar Younis, co-founder and CEO of Applied Intuition, at the company's headquarters in Magok, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday to discuss cooperation plans. The meeting, a follow-up to the autonomous driving strategic partnership signed by the two companies in March, focused on broadening collaboration beyond mobile devices to AI solutions that operate in the physical world, including robots and drones.
The two companies are advancing autonomous driving solutions by combining LG Innotek's high-performance sensing modules (cameras, LiDAR and radar) with Applied Intuition's intelligent software. At the meeting, they reviewed joint promotion plans for major clients while exploring new business opportunities by sharing experience in building physical AI software across industries including defense, construction and agriculture.
Applied Intuition, founded in 2017, has attracted Series E investment with a corporate valuation of approximately $6 billion. Co-founder Qasar Younis is notably a former chief operating officer of Y Combinator, widely known as a cradle for startups.
The company counts 18 of the world's top 20 automakers as clients and holds unrivaled competitiveness in simulation and data management tools that validate autonomous driving systems in virtual environments. The combination of LG Innotek's precision hardware and Applied Intuition's software can deliver integrated solutions encompassing "perception, judgment and control" — the core of the physical AI era.
LG Innotek's latest move stems from the confidence gained from its record first-quarter performance. In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, LG Innotek reported first-quarter consolidated revenue of 5.53 trillion won ($4 billion) and operating profit of 295.3 billion won ($214 million). Revenue rose 11% and operating profit jumped 136% from a year earlier.
Despite the seasonal off-peak period, solid demand in the optical solutions business driven by the new iPhone launch of its key client led the earnings. In particular, revenue in the semiconductor substrate business (Package Solutions Division) grew 16% year-on-year, accelerating the shift toward a high-margin business structure. The market is paying attention to LG Innotek's expanding supply of high-value-added semiconductor substrates such as flip-chip ball grid arrays (FC-BGA).
"Applied Intuition is a leader in physical AI trusted by global corporations," Moon said. "Through this cooperation, LG Innotek will leap forward as a global top-tier player in the sensing field leading the physical AI era."
