HD Hyundai CEO Chung Ki-sun Discussed Business Expansion with Chairman Peter Thiel of Palantir Technologies

• CEO Chung Ki-sun discussed with Chairman Peter Thiel to make progress in business cooperation, digital transformation (DX), and business management agenda.
• Establishment of a joint venture for big data solutions within this year was discussed to build a big data platform to provide service for the public and private sectors.
• "We will further speed up the digital transformation with Palantir," said CEO Chung.

SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- HD Hyundai (former Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings) CEO Chung Ki-sun met with Co-founder and Chairman Peter Thiel of Palantir Technologies, the world's no.1 big data company, to discuss new business development and overall business agenda.

Hyundai Heavy Industry Group (HHI Group) announced on October 30 that CEO Chung had a discussion with Palantir Chairman Thiel at Yeouido Fairmont Hotel Seoul during the Chairman's visit to Korea. They exchanged opinions about an upcoming joint venture (JV) between HHI Group and Palantir and the business development currently under bilateral cooperation.

CEO Chung and Chairman Thiel examined the digital transformation (DX) status in HHI Group's business areas of shipbuilding, energy, and construction equipment, which are under bilateral collaboration.

In September, HHI Group signed the main contract to introduce "Foundry," Palantir's corporate big data platform, to all the affiliates under the shipbuilding business, and planned to utilize the platform to establish the foundation for a shipyard with autonomous operation, which is currently under development.

Moreover, the two business leaders exchanged opinions about business uncertainty caused by worldwide inflation, interest rate increase, and the energy crisis combined with the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war and shared ideas about corporate survival and growth strategy amid the complex economic crisis.

In addition, CEO Chung and Chairman Thiel agreed to finalize the JV establishment this year to introduce and supply a tailored big data platform service to public institutions and the private sector in Korea. HHI Group and Palantir plan to expand sales through the JV by providing a customer-tailored big data solution in Korea, where the world-class IT infrastructure is established.

HHI Group will provide know-how accumulated in its world's no.1 shipbuilding business and various manufacturing businesses and establish a bridgehead in the Korean market and entry strategies. At the same time, Palantir will build up a big data platform for customers and take responsibility for software supply and operation.

"The meeting with Chairman Thiel was very constructive and fruitful. With Palantir, we will gear up the speed for digital transformation based on data and AI," said CEO Chung.

"The logistical challenges for a world-leading shipbuilding company like Hyundai Heavy Industries Group are immense," said Palantir Co-Founder and Chairman Peter Thiel. "Those hard problems are where Palantir's engineers thrive."

• About Chairman Peter Thiel of Palantir Technologies
  Chairman Peter Thiel founded PayPal in 1998, the world's first Fin-tech company and operated it with Elon Musk, and co-founded Palantir with Alex Karp in 2004. Known as a "Silicon Valley heavyweight," he invested in over 150 IT companies, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Tesla Motors, Space X, and Airbnb.

SOURCE Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Group