SK Group has seized a foothold in South Korea’s competitive robotics sector by acquiring Yuil Robotics through its battery subsidiary SK On, positioning itself alongside rivals Samsung and Hyundai in the race for AI-powered automation dominance.
The deal, announced March 2, sent Yuil Robotics’ stock soaring 17.2% to 72,300 won ($54). SK Chairman Chey Tae-won, who met with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI’s Sam Altman at CES 2025, aims to leverage artificial general intelligence to transform factory operations.
Yuil Robotics, founded in 2011 and listed on the Kosdaq exchange, specializes in collaborative robots for cooking and industrial robots for manufacturing applications. The company demonstrated its dexterity capabilities at Intermold Korea 2025, where its Linkobot EC series showcased precision handling by manipulating an egg.
The acquisition continues a trend among Korea’s major conglomerates rushing into robotics. Samsung Electronics previously secured a controlling stake in Rainbow Robotics with a 267.5 billion won investment, while Hyundai Motor made headlines in 2020 with its $1.1 billion acquisition of Boston Dynamics.
Industry analysts predict SK will pursue additional strategic partnerships with overseas technology firms to accelerate its robotics capabilities. The company has already begun centralizing its efforts, with SK Telecom relocating its AI robot research organization to headquarters in January to speed commercialization.
