NEWS

EV and Autonomous Driving Verification Solutions Exclusive Supply Partnership with Hyundai Motor and Kia Implementing

Level 4 Autonomous Driving Technology

Diversifying Business Areas into UGVs, UAM, and Beyond

"By developing autonomous vehicles over seven generations across 15 years since 2010, we have secured all the technological capabilities that comprise autonomous driving systems. We plan to achieve early mass production of autonomous driving technology in preparation for the artificial intelligence (AI) era and expand our application fields into autonomous ships, Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs), and Urban Air Mobility (UAM)."

Seung-beom Park, CEO of ACEWORKS, met with the Seoul Economic Daily on the 22nd at the company's Gangnam headquarters in Seoul, explaining that the company is accelerating preparations to speed up the commercialization of autonomous driving technology in response to the easing of related regulations.

Founded in 2009 under the slogan "Your Partner for Future Mobility," ACEWORKS is an enterprise that provides highly reliable, proven solutions in the fields of electric vehicles and autonomous driving.

In fact, 70% of ACEWORKS' revenue is generated from solutions that verify the performance of EV battery-related systems. Notably, because the company's verification equipment can conduct testing via software without the presence of an actual physical vehicle, it reduces verification timelines and offers high efficiency. Its testing equipment for EV Battery Management Systems (BMS), in particular, has had its technological prowess recognized through an exclusive partnership with Hyundai Motor and Kia.

CEO Park explained, "While competitors focus on identifying software issues prior to mass production, ACEWORKS offers a unique solution that not only detects issues but also efficiently verifies various software updates in the shortest time possible even after mass production."

ACEWORKS is also pouring its efforts into the autonomous driving sector for its next major leap forward. The company has been strengthening its autonomous driving capabilities following its merger in December 2023 with ACELAB, an autonomous driving system provider.

To secure high-quality data—which dictates the success or failure of autonomous vehicle technology—ACEWORKS signed an exclusive domestic supply agreement this year for an advanced data logging system with 'VCARSYSTEM,' China's top company in the autonomous driving data logging sector. Within the industry, it is estimated that China, led by Baidu, has built a massive autonomous driving ecosystem by accumulating hundreds of millions of kilometers of driving data.

"China is the world's largest data market, providing a diverse array of road conditions and driving scenarios," CEO Park stated with confidence. "This partnership will provide a powerful stepping stone for South Korean autonomous driving companies to catch up with leading autonomous driving enterprises in the United States and China."

Nevertheless, considering the current domestic situation where the commercialization of urban autonomous driving services is being delayed indefinitely due to regulations and a lack of legal and institutional frameworks, CEO Park plans to focus capabilities on UGV technological development. ACEWORKS currently provides autonomous driving system design and control technologies for defense UGVs being developed by South Korean defense corporations.

Indeed, the company's defense sector UGV revenue reached 1.5 billion KRW last year, representing an approximate 30% increase year-on-year. This marks an explosive growth of 650% from 200 million KRW in 2021. Following its implementation of Level 4 autonomous driving technology—a level requiring no driver intervention—in December last year, ACEWORKS successfully completed the government project titled "Development of Autonomous Driving-Based Emergency Vehicle Traffic Support Service Technology" this past February. The company proved its technological capabilities by manufacturing an autonomous ambulance that transports emergency patients. The market outlook is bright, as UGV technology is expected to be utilized not only in defense but also across various industries such as construction, agriculture, and airports. "As the UGV market is expected to continuous grow, we plan to focus more heavily on this business," CEO Park explained.

The driving force behind this technological prowess lies in the company's continuous investment in research and development. Out of the company's 92 total employees this year, 77 are R&D personnel, accounting for 83.69% of the entire workforce.

Having never recorded a deficit since its inception, ACEWORKS is projected to grow steadily based on its achievements in autonomous driving fields like UGVs alongside its existing EV solutions. Its revenue, which stood at a mere 4 billion KRW in 2020, expanded significantly to 14 billion KRW last year.

Revealing his ambitions, CEO Park stated, "We are targeting 20 billion KRW in revenue this year, with an ultimate goal of scaling the company up to 1 trillion KRW. To move forward as the number-one autonomous driving company, we will grow into an enterprise where 10,000 to 20,000 engineers can work."

Source: Seoul Economic Daily, Reporter Woo-min Park wipark@sedaily.com

URL : https://www.sedaily.com/NewsView/2GSWQ5L18X