NEW ROADMAP DELIVERS BILLIONS IN SOUTH KOREA
Hyundai Motor Group has mapped out its next five years in South Korea and plans to a deliver an over $84 billion investment in response to an evolving global business environment. To better position the automotive manufacturer for the future, strengthening domestic capabilities in South Korea will center around advanced AI technologies and progressing the green energy ecosystem. The multibillion-dollar investment will be split amongst three areas: $35 billion toward AI, Software Defined Vehicles, electrification, robotics and hydrogen; over $25 billion in R&D to develop new products and core technologies; and $24 billion into optimizing production facilities and constructing Hyundai’s Global Business Center. The move builds upon current activity in the country, which includes the construction of an EV production facility and a hydrogen fuel cell plant in Ulsan.
Photo courtesy of Hermeus
FUNDING GROWTH BEGETS PRODUCTION GROWTH
Hypersonic aircraft startup Hermeus has announced plans to shift its headquarters away from Atlanta and move these operations to Los Angeles, California. The company’s current facility in DeKalb County, Georgia, will move focus to production, according to a LinkedIn post made by the company last week. The new HQ spans 65,000 sq. ft. in El Segundo, in proximity to industry leaders such as Boeing and Northrop Grumman, which will host Hermeus’ engineering and corporate functions. This news comes as the company secured $350 million in Series C financing to move from prototyping of its high-Mach unmanned aircraft to mission-ready. This funding will support Hermeus as it looks to introduce the fastest unmanned aircraft available today, with operations in Georgia and California helping to support future success. “Speed is life for us,” said Hermeus Founder and CEO AJ Piplica. “This new funding lets us build multiple aircraft at the same time and scale our manufacturing capabilities, adding more hardware richness and robustness to our program. That accelerates our path to ramjet-powered flight.”
TIKTOK SECURES SECOND FINLAND DATA CENTER
Global social media platform TikTok has plans to construct a second data center in Finland, building upon Project Clover which was first announced in 2023. The company’s $13 billion initiative is designed to scale protection of over 200 million European users data and helped introduce its first campus in Kouvola in 2025. TikTok selected the southern Finland city of Lahti for its new $1.1 billion data center, positioned in the Kiveriö district. “Finland offers a unique combination of strong digital infrastructure, access to clean and reliable energy, and a highly skilled workforce,” says TikTok Head of Public Policy Finland Christian Hannibal. “That makes it a natural choice as we continue to expand our European infrastructure and strengthen how we protect and store data locally.”
Reports compiled and written by Alexis Elmore
