NEWS

CEO of ACEWORKS, Park Seung Beom
Use simulation for fast verification
It's possible without a prototype. High demand
Open design interworking with a variety of systems
Collaboration with more than 300 domestic and foreign clients

"300 million won worth of equipment needs to save 3 billion won worth of time for customers to be really valuable."

"The mobility industry is competitive only when the speed of change determines everything and electronic components can be verified and modified quickly," ACEWORKS CEO Park Seung-beom said on the 25th. "Ace Works is a company that designs time so that customers can apply technology faster and more stably."

ACEWORKS is a technology-focused company that provides software verification equipment (HILS), controller (ECU), and customized engineering solutions for autonomous vehicles and electric vehicles (EVs). It started as Control Works in 2009 and merged with Ace Lab, before changing its current name to its current one.

HILS, the flagship product, is a device that can simulate various control software of an electric vehicle including a battery management system (BMS) without a real battery. It costs about 400 million won to 500 million won per unit. This means that EV developers are in high demand for high-precision verification without requiring actual vehicle testing.

In self-driving, the company focuses on providing technology support for PoC-level technologies. It provides a system integrated into sensor simulation, ECU interworking, and communication environment to help the company simulate concepts and set directions without prototypes. "Autonomous driving is a battle for PoC rather than verification," Park said. "Only when we can verify and fail quickly can we move on to the next stage."

It also provides customized engineering services. It is a structure that flexibly orders the development of functional units tailored to the needs and helps to carry out projects without internal personnel. Not all companies can have large-scale development organizations.

ACEWORKS' differentiation comes from its "open design." It is designed to work with various control systems without being subordinate to a specific platform or manufacturer. Hyundai Motor and BMS verification projects last year are representative achievements. The verification period and cost have been reduced by more than half compared to the existing method, and the results have been reflected in dozens of mass-produced vehicles.

ACEWORKS is currently collaborating with more than 300 domestic and foreign clients. It includes large companies such as Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution in Korea, while overseas companies are joined by Honda of Japan and Fisker of the U.S. In particular, it is focusing on defense mobility along with autonomous vehicles and EVs. For many years, it has been cooperating with the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) to develop ECUs for high-powered tactical vehicles and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) control systems.

ACEWORKS, which had 30 employees and 4.3 billion won in sales when CEO Park joined in 2020, more than tripled to 92 employees and 14.7 billion won in sales as of last year. The strategy is to achieve 100 billion won in sales within the next five years and strengthen profitability through technological advancement. To this end, it is expanding its scope to include infotainment, artificial intelligence (AI)-based verification automation, and cloud simulation.

The company also aims to establish a customized development ecosystem by applying a European engineering outsourcing model to Korea in the future. "In Europe, outsourcing engineering companies with 10,000 people are natural," CEO Park said. "Although it is still unfamiliar to Korea, ACEWORKS wants to change its culture."

Source: Financial News Reporter Shin Ji-min imnn@fnnews.com
URL : https://www.fnnews.com/news/202505251825270159