4 robot-related firms' stocks jump 155% this year amid physical AI boom

Four robot-related companies listed on Korea's main bourse have seen their shares jump 155 percent on average this year amid a global boom in the physical artificial intelligence industry, data showed Wednesday. The data, compiled as of Tuesday by the Korea Exchange, covered robot-related large-cap stocks with market capitalizations of at least 50 trillion won ($32.8 billion) each: Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Mobis, Kia Corp. and LG Electronics Inc. By company, LG Electronics' shares closed at 392,500 won Tuesday, surging more than fourfold from 91,400 won on the first trading day of this year. While LG Electronics' business portfolio mainly focuses on home appliances, the Korean tech giant has recently set its sights on the humanoid robot industry, unveiling a new robot, CLOiD, during CES 2026. Shares of Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Mobis and Kia rose 144 percent, 105 percent and 40 percent, respectively, on growing market expectations for Atlas, a humanoid robot developed by Boston Dynamics, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group. On Monday, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, cited robotics as a potential a