Samsung accelerates Robot innovation with huge investment

Samsung announced a huge investment in Rainbow Robotics to foster future Robot innovation. The company will exercise a call option to increase its stake to 35%, incorporating Rainbow Robotics as a subsidiary.

The Korean tech giant aims to accelerate future robot development such as humanoid robots. The company initially acquired a 14.7% stake in Rainbow Robotics in 2023 by investing 86.8 billion Korean Won ($59 million, as of Dec 31).

Rainbow Robotics was founded in 2011 by researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology’s (KAIST) Humanoid Robot Research Center. The platform has developed the first two-legged walking robot “Hubo” in Korea.

Samsung aims to strengthen its foundation in the development of advanced robot technology. By combining Samsung’s AI and software with Rainbow Robotics’ tech, the partnership plans to foster the development of advanced humanoids.

In addition, the company would establish a synergy council with Rainbow Robotics. It will help maintain leadership in the advanced robot global business.

In particular, Samsung plans to utilize Rainbow Robotics’ collaborative robots, dual-arm mobile manipulators, and autonomous mobile robots for manufacturing and logistics automation tasks.

Future Robotics Office: Samsung established a Future Robotics Office reporting directly to the CEO, focussing on developing future robots including humanoid robots.

Dr. Jun-Ho Oh, a founding member of Rainbow Robotics and honorary professor at KAIST, will serve as an advisor to Samsung and head of the Future Robotics Office after retiring from Rainbow Robotics. Dr. Oh will provide robotics technology and business expertise to Samsung’s future robot development from his deep experience in industry-academia collaboration.