Hanwha Aerospace to Jointly Develop 'Physical AI' with KRAFTON, Developer...

The logos of KRAFTON and Hanwha | Image Provided by Hanwha Aerospace

Hanwha Aerospace recently announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with KRAFTON to jointly develop AI technology and establish a joint venture (JV).

The two companies will, step by step, promote tasks such as joint research and development of core Physical AI technologies, review of demonstration and application scenarios, and the construction of technical and operational systems. In the future, they plan to establish a JV to link joint development achievements to commercialization and build a mid- to long-term cooperation system.

This cooperation will be advanced by combining Hanwha Aerospace’s defense and manufacturing infrastructure and uncrewed-systems technology with KRAFTON’s AI research capabilities and software development expertise.

Based on its weapon system’s operational capabilities, Hanwha Aerospace intends to enhance the maturity of Physical AI technology operating in real-world environments and to verify the feasibility of field application through phased demonstrations. In particular, KRAFTON’s data operations experience and virtual-environment-based simulation technology accumulated in the gaming industry are expected to play a crucial role in the learning and verification processes of Physical AI.

The two companies plan to expand their cooperation into the space and aviation sectors in the long term.

Both entities will also participate as investors in a fund created by Hanwha Asset Management. This fund focuses on investing in AI, robotics, and the defense industry, with a target formation size of 1 billion dollars. Through investments in promising technologies and companies, they aim to expand the Physical AI ecosystem and strengthen technological competitiveness. Furthermore, based on the fund, they plan to identify partners with high growth potential across the core value chain and connect them for joint development and commercialization.

KRAFTON CEO Changhan Kim stated, “By combining KRAFTON’s AI technological prowess and software operational capabilities with Hanwha’s field-based capabilities, we will accelerate the development of technology that functions in actual environments.” He added, “In the future, we will establish a JV with Hanwha to link joint development achievements to commercialization and grow the JV into a global defense technology company like Anduril.”

Jae-il Son, CEO of Hanwha Aerospace, remarked, “AI technology is rapidly growing beyond general industry into ‘Physical AI’ utilized in the defense sector.” He emphasized, “Through cooperation with KRAFTON, we will present a new technological paradigm in Physical AI and the future defense field.”