Hyundai Motor shares surged to a record high on Wednesday, jumping as much as 14.9 percent in morning trading, as investor optimism around a potential deepening of ties with U.S. chipmaker Nvidia drove the stock well ahead of the broader market. The benchmark KOSPI index rose 1.2 percent over the same period.

The rally was driven by growing market speculation that Hyundai Motor Group could deepen its partnership with U.S. chipmaker Nvidia, following recent developments and high-level meetings at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Hyundai Motor Group earlier announced plans to deploy Atlas humanoid robots at its factories, a move unveiled during CES that initially drew investor attention. However, analysts said the announcement alone was insufficient to justify the magnitude of the stock’s rise.

Shin Yoon-chul, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, noted that Hyundai plans to produce around 30,000 Atlas robots by 2028 and that the robot was presented only as a static mock-up at the event.

 “The robot deployment plan itself does not fully explain the sharp rally in Hyundai Motor shares,” Shin said.

Instead, investor optimism appears to be centered on expectations that Hyundai’s collaboration with Nvidia could extend beyond a conventional supplier relationship.

Speculation intensified after Hyundai Motor Group Chair Euisun Chung held talks with Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang on the sidelines of CES.

Market participants are increasingly betting that Nvidia may expand its involvement with Hyundai Motor Group, potentially including strategic investments in Hyundai affiliates or broader cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous driving technologies.

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Shin says the market seemed to be pricing in the possibility of a deeper, more comprehensive alliance, which could provide further upside for Hyundai Motor shares as well as those of its group companies.

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Hyundai Motor and Nvidia have not publicly commented on the scope of their discussions or any potential expansion of their partnership.