# Hyunggi Cho

> Hyunggi Cho is a Korean-born engineer, founder, and automotive technology executive whose work moved from multi-sensor perception research at Carnegie Mellon to Tesla's early Autopilot R&D team and then to Phantom AI, the ADAS software company he co-founded in 2017. His practical wager was that affordable Level 2 and Level 3 driver assistance - computer vision, sensor fusion, and vehicle control that can run on automotive hardware - mattered before the industry's grander robotaxi promises. Harbinger acquired Phantom AI in a transaction completed in November 2025 and announced in February 2026, while the team remained in Mountain View and its computer-vision software moved toward deployment in Harbinger vehicles and licensing through ZF.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Phantom AI, a Harbinger company
- **Organizations:** Phantom AI, Harbinger, Tesla Motors, Carnegie Mellon University, Yonsei University, Sun Moon University
- **Education:** PhD, research focused on multi-sensor fusion for autonomous driving, Carnegie Mellon University, Master of Science in Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University, Master of Science; research in localization for wireless sensor networks, Yonsei University, Bachelor's degree in Control and Measurement, Sun Moon University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Phantom AI and developed a modular ADAS stack spanning computer vision, sensor fusion, and vehicle control., Raised $80.2 million in disclosed funding for Phantom AI through its 2023 Series C announcement., Helped position Phantom AI's computer vision for integration into Harbinger vehicles and licensing by ZF after the acquisition.

## Career timeline

- **1998-2001** — Studied control and measurement at Sun Moon University.
- **2005-2007** — Completed master's study at Yonsei University, with research in wireless-sensor-network localization.
- **2008-2014** — Completed robotics master's and doctoral work at Carnegie Mellon, focusing on perception and multi-sensor tracking for autonomous driving.
- **2014-2016** — Worked at Tesla on Autopilot R&D as a senior control engineer in environmental modeling and computer vision.
- **2016** — Met future co-founder Chan Kyu Lee in a Tesla cafeteria and began discussing early ADAS opportunities.
- **2017** — Co-founded Phantom AI to build affordable Level 2 and Level 3 driver-assistance software.
- **2020** — Phantom AI announced a $22 million Series A led by Celeres Investments, with Ford and KT among participants.
- **2023** — Phantom AI announced a $36.5 million Series C, bringing disclosed funding since founding to $80.2 million.
- **2025** — Delivered a keynote on self-driving industry trends at the KAIST Global Entrepreneurship Summer School.
- **2025-2026** — Harbinger completed its acquisition of Phantom AI in November 2025 and announced it on February 25, 2026; the Mountain View team continued operating.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Phantom AI and developed a modular ADAS stack spanning computer vision, sensor fusion, and vehicle control.
- Raised $80.2 million in disclosed funding for Phantom AI through its 2023 Series C announcement.
- Helped position Phantom AI's computer vision for integration into Harbinger vehicles and licensing by ZF after the acquisition.
- Co-authored peer-reviewed work on real-time pedestrian detection and multi-sensor moving-object tracking for urban driving.
- Was an ICRA 2011 Best Automation Paper Award finalist for work on vision-based 3D bicycle tracking.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Harbinger announced its acquisition of Phantom AI, completed in November 2025, along with a ZF agreement to license Phantom AI computer vision for passenger-car ADAS.
- **2026-02** — Harbinger said Phantom AI's 30-person team would continue operating in Mountain View and that its ADAS technology would be integrated into Harbinger electric and hybrid vehicles during 2026.
- **2025-07** — Cho delivered a keynote on self-driving industry trends at KAIST's 2025 Global Entrepreneurship Summer School.
- **2025-01** — Phantom AI showcased its ADAS technology with Texas Instruments at CES 2025.

## Links

- Website: https://phantom.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hyunggi-cho-63650823
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/phantom_ai_news
- YouTube: https://youtu.be/6ft8cVadkfM
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phantomai/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/hyunggi-cho
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-25