South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics announced its plans to boost investments in businesses that will drive its future growth and committed to a $22 billion (₩25 trillion) investment over the next three years — primarily in the areas of artificial intelligence, 5G, automotive electronics components and biopharmaceuticals.
The company said that they expect the innovations powered by AI will drive the industry’s transformation, while the next-generation 5G telecommunications technology will create new opportunities in autonomous driving, the internet of things (IoT) and robotics.
In AI, Samsung plans to significantly expand its research capability, increasing the number of advanced AI researchers to 1,000 across its global AI Centers. It will also invest aggressively to become a global player in the advanced markets for 5G chipsets and related devices and equipment.
They added the company aims to become a leader in electronics components for future cars such as system-on-chips for autonomous driving, utilising its leadership in semiconductors, telecommunications and display technologies.
This news comes after the restored leadership of vice chairman Lee Jae-yong, who was freed from prison in February. Jae-yong was arrested and then charged in 2017 over his alleged role in a political and corporate scandal linked to South Korea’s former president, Park Geun-hye. Charges against Jae-yong included bribery, embezzlement, hiding assets overseas and perjury. Earlier this year, his sentence was halved, and Seoul High Court decided to suspend Jae-yong’s jail term.
Samsung also announced a set of initiatives to build and energise the ecosystem of innovative businesses for the digital economy. By drawing on their expertise in technology and startup investments, Samsung will open up its venture incubation program to both external and internal start-up projects and provide software training.
This week’s announcement follows many months of deliberations and review by the management and board of directors of different Samsung companies that will make the investments, including Samsung Electronics.
