(News) Samsung accelerates humanoid development to offset business headwinds, challenges tech giant

According to a report by South Korean media outlet The Bell, Samsung Electronics is increasing its focus on the robotics field. The company is accelerating efforts to identify and develop new growth drivers as it faces declining influence in core businesses such as semiconductors and mobile devices.

Samsung advances its robotics ambitions

As stated in the report, Samsung Electronics announced on December 31st that it has become Rainbow Robotics’ largest shareholder. The company invested 86.8 billion won in 2023 to acquire a 14.7% stake in Rainbow Robotics. By exercising the call option, Samsung increased its stake to 35.0%, increasing its status from the second largest shareholder to the largest shareholder. As a result, Rainbow Robotics will become a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics.

According to the report, Rainbow Robotics was founded in 2011 by researchers from the Hubo Lab at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and is famous for developing South Korea’s first bipedal robot, Hubo.

As the report notes, Samsung will leverage its artificial intelligence (AI) and software (SW) capabilities and Rainbow Robotics’ robotics expertise to develop advanced intelligent humanoid robots. The plan is to start.

To realize this vision, Samsung Electronics established the “Future Robotics Initiative Team” under the DX division. According to the report, Samsung intends to integrate Rainbow Robotics’ collaborative robots, dual-arm robots, and autonomous mobile robots into its manufacturing and logistics automation processes.

Hyundai: Partnered with Toyota to develop humanoid

With Samsung’s entry, a big showdown in the humanoid robot market is expected. In South Korea, Hyundai stands out as a major competitor. As The Bell noted, Hyundai increased its presence in the humanoid market by establishing an in-house robotics team in 2018 and acquiring Boston Dynamics in 2021.

According to a report in the Korea Economic Newspaper in October 2024, Hyundai Motor and Toyota are collaborating through affiliated companies to accelerate the development of humanoid robots equipped with AI and aim to advance the development of “general-purpose humanoid robots.” are.

Tesla: Pioneer with Optimus

Tesla, the electric vehicle leader, is also investing heavily in humanoids, and as The Bell report points out, it is currently developing one under the name “Optimus.” As pointed out in a report by the BBC, Tesla plans to produce humanoid robots in small quantities for internal use in 2025 and in large quantities for other companies in 2026.

NVIDIA: A small computer for a humanoid robot called Jetson Thor

Beyond efforts by car companies, NVIDIA recently announced its entry into the humanoid robot industry. According to a report in the Financial Times, NVIDIA plans to launch its next-generation small computer for humanoid robots, known as Jetson Thor, in the first half of 2025.

The Financial Times report highlights that NVIDIA offers a complete solution that includes both the software to train AI-powered robots and the chips that power them.

Notably, the report notes that NVIDIA’s expansion into robotics comes as major cloud computing companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google seek to reduce their dependence on the U.S. semiconductor giant. That’s what I’m pointing out.

In addition to NVIDIA, companies such as Amazon and Microsoft have also expressed interest in the humanoid robot market, according to a report from The Bell.

The global humanoid robot market is expected to total over USD 2 billion by 2027, with major robot manufacturers gradually achieving mass production by 2025, according to TrendForce’s latest research findings. . The market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 154% between 2024 and 2027 Service-oriented robots will greatly benefit from advances in generative AI, further increasing the market’s attractiveness.

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(Photo courtesy of Samsung)