Samsung to expand VC program in $22b innovation drive
Korea’s Samsung has committed KRW25 trillion ($22 billion) to a technology innovation drive that will focus strongly on domestic R&D and include an expansion of the company’s venture incubation program.
The initiative will be driven by the company's IT affiliate Samsung Electronics, encompassing artificial intelligence (AI), 5G telecommunications, automotive electronics components, and biotechnology. The venture program C-Lab will be opened up to both external and internal start-up projects and provide software training.
According to an announcement, additional investment in semiconductors, robotics, displays, and internet-of-things could extend the plan to KRW180 trillion in total investments across the next three years, KRW130 trillion of which is expected to be spent in Korea. Samsung and the Korean government will jointly launch a separate KRW110 billion fund to invest in local small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
C-Lab was established in 2012 to nurture Samsung's internal creative business ideas but is now mostly externally focused, with 300 of the 500 upcoming projects expected to be led by outside candidates. Samsung has also pledged to increase the scale of its Smart Factory program, which provides automation services and intelligent upgrades to SMEs with manufacturing facilities.
Last year, Samsung Electronics launched a $150 million global VC fund via its incubation and acceleration unit Samsung Next. Other investments in emerging technologies have been realized via Samsung Venture Investment, which has recently backed companies including Indonesian ride-hailing company Go-Jek and Korean crowdsourcing platform MyMusicTaste.
Samsung Electronics also invests directly in venture rounds, with recent activity including participation in a $40 million extended Series A for Chinese AI technology developer DeePhi Tech alongside Alibaba Group affiliate Ant Financial. Earlier this year, DeePhi was acquired for an undisclosed sum by US computer processing company Xilinx.
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