Samsung Electronics shares surged by 6.76%, and the Kospi index rose by 4%. This comes after the company announced the opening of a new robotics division. The robotics division will be directly overseen by CEO TM Roh. Executive Vice ​President Lee Dongkun will head the Robotics Strategy Team. Lee previously led robotics strategy at Hyundai Motor Group.

Samsung Electronics is creating a robotics division to enhance commercialization in the industry.  The aim is to establish robotics as a growth engine. Samsung has been eyeing investment and acquisitions that would enhance the development and commercialization of robotics. And it planned to do this through partnerships with local companies. 

Samsung was gearing up to invest around 60 trillion won ($40.7 billion). 19 trillion is allocated for Gumi, in collaboration with Samsung SDS, with the aims of developing physical AI and humanoid robot ventures. The investment is in the Yeongnam region, including its site in Gumi. It is to be recalled that Samsung raised its stake in local robotics firm Rainbow Robotics to become the biggest share holder. 

Samsung also revealed its plans ​to establish robotics research hubs in the U.S., China, ​and Japan as part of its goals to achieve tangible results in its humanoid robotics this year. 

Physical AI is making the robotics business more viable, Samsung said. The South Korean tech giant is set to develop humanoid robots ⁠to ​improve both productivity and user experience. The deployment is ​initially for deployment at manufacturing sites. This will gradually expand into home and retail settings.

This comes at the heels of a recent announcement by South Korea to allocate 16 trillion won in policy financing for physical AI.  The money is designated for the project, M.AX Frontier Project, AKA “Manufacturing AI Transformation.” This project is overseen by South Korea’s National Growth Fund. The state provides support to companies, encouraging the adoption of new technology. The Financial Services Commission, on the other hand, provides capital supporting major investments.

Robot24.com Business News TAKE:

Samsung is making both financial and organizational commitments to physical AI and humanoid robotics. The CEO’s directly heading the division shows this. The significant investment also highlights the company’s goals to achieve results in the sector. The speed of their humanoid robotics development and rate of deployment this year will be a key metric to watch.