Kakao Mobility plans level 4 self-driving on Nvidia DRIVE Thor as Samsung and LG expand physical AI work
Nvidia says Kakao will start on Kia purpose-built vehicles using Hyperion and Halos, Samsung cut one chip simulation from about 18 hours to 41 seconds, and LG ran GR00T on its CLOiD robot in a real factory.
Why it matters
Nvidia used its AI Day Seoul event to showcase Korean partners applying its simulation and robotics stack to manufacturing and mobility. Kakao Mobility, which has operated autonomous services in Seoul's Gangnam district, plans a level 4 system built on Nvidia's Hyperion platform with DRIVE AGX Thor and the Halos safety framework, starting with Kia purpose-built vehicles. Samsung reports a roughly 1,600x speedup in one thermal-mechanical chip simulation and up to 5x faster quantum chemistry runs. LG demonstrated GR00T-powered manipulation on its CLOiD robot. No deployment dates were given for Kakao's level 4 service.
Key facts
- Kakao Mobility targets a level 4 driving system
- Uses Nvidia Hyperion, DRIVE AGX Thor and Halos
- Development starts on Kia purpose-built vehicles
- Samsung: one chip simulation cut from ~18 hours to 41 seconds
- Samsung sMOL quantum chemistry up to 5x faster with cuEST
- LG ran GR00T on CLOiD in a real factory