Henry Chung was appointed senior vice-president and head of Hyundai Cradle in Silicon Valley, an open innovation and corporate venturing subsidiary of South Korea-based carmaker Hyundai Motor Group, in July 2020.
The unit, formerly known as Hyundai Ventures, aims to work with pioneers of robotic technologies to create mobility solutions “for not just the few but for all”. It has 17 active portfolio companies including solid-state battery provider Solid Power, mobility discovery app Migo, and unmanned aircraft vehicle developer Top Flight.
Behavioural prediction software developer Perceptive Automata, solid-state battery technology developer Ionic Materials, wireless technology developer MetaWave, voice intelligence technology developer SoundHound, wireless power technology company Mojo Mobility, display technology developer Ostendo Technologies, driver safety technology developer Netradyne and electric vehicle software provider Ampup are also among the companies it has backed.
Chung joined Hyundai after 10 years at South Korea-headquartered electronics, chemical and telecoms conglomerate LG’s manufacturing arm LG Electronics as vice-president of corporate venture capital.
Before joining LG Electronics, Chung had spent four years as a director of the direct investment team at US-based debt and equity provider Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)’s venture capital investment arm SVB Capital, where he invested from two funds in different technology realms ranging from information technology hardware, internet, cleantech and life sciences.
Chung graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning both bachelor of science and master of engineering degrees in electrical engineering, with premedical and acoustics specialisation.
