The Olympics of robots: Automate.
At the world’s largest event of its kind, companies of every stripe gathered to compete for supremacy.
In truth, like all exhibitions, this place was also a sponsor festival for mechanical engineering students. Hundreds of startups were hard at work demonstrating their technologies, desperately waiting for investors to take an interest.
-M-my God...
-Does that even make sense?
But today, as if the main character of this festival had already been decided, one company was drawing attention in a league of its own.
“Speed. Sit down and stand up ten times.”
-Woah... wow.
“It’s nice to have such clear weather for once. Since the weather’s good, shall we try some push-ups too?”
The longer Sharma’s commands continued, the more gasps of admiration poured out from the crowd.
In this day and age, a robot sitting down and standing up might not be all that impressive, but the fact that all of it was being done through voice commands was not common technology.
Speed manipulated its body freely according to the guide’s instructions, and all of those orders were given by voice.
But it was still too early to be surprised.
With a slightly tense expression, Sharma hurried toward today’s main stage.
“Good, Speed. A 200-kilogram weight lift is easy enough, isn’t it? But you’re still a long way from catching up to humans. The Olympic record is 215 kilograms. Can you lift this too?”
-Wow!
“Oh, not bad at all. Then how about 250?”
-Woah...
“Then 300? 320?”
As the test continued, men in suits who looked unmistakably like investors busily exchanged whispers.
-That’s... incredible, isn’t it? It can lift up to 400 kilograms without breaking a sweat.
-Strange. If the hardware performs that well, the software should definitely lag behind, so how is the voice recognition...
-ARG? Does anyone know that company? Shouldn’t we contact headquarters first?
Meanwhile, Speed broke through the 400-kilogram mark, achieving twice the Olympic record. It was the moment when a physique impossible for humans to catch up to was perfectly proven.
When the show ended, applause burst out from the crowd.
With durability like a Terminator and voice recognition almost like a human’s, even those who were competitors, yet also shared a sense of camaraderie, applauded in celebration of the technology.
But Sharma’s face did not so much as twitch.
The most important technology had not even appeared yet. This was the true highlight of Speed.
“Yes, that will be all. Speed, give a gentlemanly bow to the audience who watched your wonderful show.”
-Clap, clap.
“What do you think, everyone? Do you like our Speed? It doesn’t complain, it has excellent durability, voice recognition, and even micro-control. It is truly a robot that can be applied across all sorts of fields.”
Sharma paused for a beat, then said,
“And its production cost is only seventy thousand dollars.”
At that moment, the men in suits who had been whispering among themselves froze.
In current industrial sites, robots that can only repeat simple labor are going for around 170,000 dollars. Those capable of simple office assistance cost 300,000 dollars, and those capable of precision processes cost over a million... Yet that Indian man was saying that this technology, even capable of basic voice recognition, cost only seventy thousand dollars.
Did that production cost even make sense?
-...We should contact them, right?
-You still haven’t?! Contact headquarters right now and get a budget. That’s a big fish! We have to wrap this up before Teslan gets involved.
-Tom, I’ll go meet that Sharma guy first. Once the exhibition ends, we’ll probably have to take a number and stand in line.
The men in suits busily moved about and pulled business cards from their wallets.
At this exhibition, an MS manager’s business card was no different from a free pass... They had to hurry. Looking around, the big tech suits from Facebook, Amazon, and the like had already drawn their business cards with grim determination.
Fortunately, at least, no one from Teslan seemed to be present. In that case, in the end, the one who called the highest price would win.
But soon, Sharma threw cold water over this heated atmosphere.
“And at long last, we at ARG have gained a grand stage. A company that properly recognized the unit value of our Speed. Allow me to introduce Chairman Choi Seongjin of Asan Group.”
As soon as the introduction ended, Chairman Choi made a surprise appearance at the booth like a secret guest.
Gasps burst out here and there at his appearance. Chairman Choi Seongjin was a famous figure in the United States, especially among mechanical engineers—someone none of them could fail to recognize.
Having made his surprise visit, he greeted the crowd, then very naturally, almost like a lover, put an arm around CEO Sharma’s shoulders.
“Yes, that’s right. We at ARG have decided to work with Asan Group with the goal of achieving a fully autonomous process within the year.”
-Wow... No way. It was a unicorn?
“As you know, the automotive industry is the flower of manufacturing, and robotics is perhaps more important there than anywhere else. Of course, my challenge will not stop here. Starting with Asan Motors’ unmanned process, we will become the world’s leading robotics company, writing history in the field of Physical AI. As for the construction of the production line, I’ll ask the chairman to speak to you himself.”
Having declared his ambitions with vigor, Sharma smiled and handed over the microphone.
Was it because the fierce acquisition battle had come to mind? Chairman Choi let out a light breath, then opened his mouth.
“Hello, everyone. I am Choi Seongjin of the Korean company Asan Group. I see many familiar faces gathered here. Haha.”
*
[Breaking News - Asan Motors Closes Up 13%!]
[Is the Long Underwater Period Ending... Closes Strong for Three Consecutive Days]
[Automate Exhibition Ends in Celebration, But Is the Real Winner Asan Motors?]
[Last-Minute Acquisition Just Before the Exhibition, Acquisition Price Reportedly Around 300 Million Dollars]
[Asan Motors Labor Union Resolves to Launch General Strike... Union Says, “If Management Chooses Automated Processes Over Employment, the Government Must Regulate It!”]
This was different from the future I knew.
This Automate exhibition ended not as Teslan’s festival stage, but Asan Group’s.
At the exhibition, ARG showed hardware that moved freely and software capable of voice recognition, and at the news that the production cost required for it was seventy thousand dollars, even Wall Street was jumping in shock.
Those expectations immediately appeared in the stock price.
Buoyed by net purchases from foreign investors, Asan Motors Group had posted double-digit gains for three days straight—an astonishing pace far faster than the rise of our defense stocks immediately after the Russo-Ukrainian War.
“This was actually real?”
Manager Oh, who had been reviewing corporate reports, asked me with an awkward expression.
“A startup nobody had ever heard of really cut production costs in half?”
“Yes. Wall Street has already begun cross-checking it. The cost innovation is all true.”
“That’s absurd... Even the big tech companies that pride themselves on being the best couldn’t do it...”
“GPT was also a startup nobody had heard of ten years ago. In Silicon Valley, nothing is predictable. Hehe.”
Bill Gates once said it.
MS’s greatest competitors were startups that, right about now, were building something completely different and new in some garage.
In reality, the recent industrial structure had all gone exactly according to his prediction. The ones drawing the most attention these days were startups whose names no one had even heard ten years ago.
And if my memory was correct, ARG would become one of them.
“Then what really happens now? In the Physical AI field, can Asan Group overtake even Teslan?”
“They’ve gained a considerable advantage. In terms of cost, this side is cheaper beyond comparison.”
“I hear the technology is impressive too?”
“To be coldly objective, it isn’t quite that impressive. There are many companies with better physical engines than ARG, and many companies capable of voice recognition as well. If I had to compare it to something, it’s like the K9 self-propelled howitzer.”
Manager Oh smiled in satisfaction.
“Then doesn’t that mean it’s the best? I hear the K9 is selling like hotcakes in Europe these days. Will robotics sell like that too?”
“I met Chairman Choi and talked with him, and it seems he’s actually thinking along those lines.”
“What kind of plan?”
“First, change Asan Motors’ processes into automated processes as much as possible, and if there are no problems, sell it to other companies? And in that process, Asan’s finished vehicle costs should also be reduced considerably.”
The robotics business was a side job.
The most important thing for Asan Motors right now was supremacy in the electric vehicle market.
For Asan Motors, which had a high proportion of manufacturing, no matter how much they innovated component costs, they lagged behind in competitiveness when it came to labor costs.
China was catching its breath for the moment, but if it sorted out its real estate issues and launched another low-price offensive, their market share in Europe—no, even their market share in Korea—could not be guaranteed.
And in the face of prices that were practically dirt cheap, technology was meaningless. In front of Chinese companies armed with cheap labor and dumping, our steel and shipbuilding workloads had shrunk to nearly a quarter of what they once were.
Amid such global market conditions, Asan Motors achieving a robotics innovation was truly a narrow escape from death. If my memory was correct, China’s competitiveness had begun to fall when its labor costs rose and its price advantage disappeared. If technological development accelerated, that time would come even sooner.
“Still, I can’t help thinking it’s risen too much...”
“Come on, sir, you saw Automate. The robot does tricks and even understands people talking. And this thing is only seventy thousand dollars.”
“...Even so, additional purchases are too much. Because you’ve been buying Asan Motors Group for nearly five years, our Asan Motors stake is already 31%. If we buy more here, it’ll practically be a state-owned enterprise.”
“I don’t think mechanical risk management is always good either.”
“...What?”
“If we deliberately buy something else just because our weighting is high, how are we supposed to make money? When there’s a company that’s obviously going to make money, that kind of portfolio is foolish.”
“You little punk, no matter what, they say you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
“Please trust me. This is a steel basket. It’s not about ownership percentage—we should buy more of the company that’s simply going to rise.”
After a brief argument, Manager Oh shook his head vigorously.
“Damn it, you really never do listen to anyone else, do you?”
“That’s how I hooked a big fish, didn’t I? Hehe.”
“Fine. Under our fund law, this level of ownership ratio isn’t allowed, but I’ll speak to the division chief about it.”
“Thank you!”
I bowed my head deeply, unable to hide my delight.
“Ah, but Team Leader Lee, an official notice came from KAI and KARI.”
Just as I was about to leave, Manager Oh handed me a document.
“KAI and KARI?”
“Yeah. You know, that hypersonic missile we received in exchange for writing off Russia’s bonds back then. No, that’s not it... the Korea-Russia Space Development Project.”
“Yes.”
“Of course, I’m no expert, but from what I gathered, if you launch this thing into space, it’s a satellite, and if you use it on someone else’s land, it’s a missile. I guess the technology is similar?”
“Yes, well, it’s probably like fentanyl. If you use it medically, it’s an anesthetic, and if you use it privately, it’s a narcotic. But why do you ask?”
“Read it. Looks like an invitation.”
After checking the document, I nearly jumped in surprise.
“Ah, the sixth launch of Nuri is two months away.”