Here we know Samsung more for its involvement in the smartphone market. That being said, the company is a huge conglomerate that works in many areas of the tech industry. One of those segments is robotics, which could be about to explode. Now, ahead of the events, Samsung has become the largest shareholder in Rainbow Robotics.
Samsung Electronics now owns 35% of Rainbow Robotics
Rainbow Robotics is a company founded by researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST). Hubo, South Korea’s first two-legged humanoid robot, is their creation. Samsung first invested in Rainbow Robotics recently in 2023. It seems that the South Korean giant is happy with the results, as they have now increased their stake in the firm to 35%.
While there are no official figures in Samsung’s statement, a Reuters report claims that they invested KRW 267 billion—about $181 million—to become the largest shareholder in Rainbow Robotics.
Samsung wants to boost its pace of development in robotics
Samsung already has a robotics division that has announced both prototypes and products for the commercial market. There’s the Bot Fit, a “wearable robot” that acts as an exoskeleton for your legs. Bot Fit is designed to boost the results of your walking sessions by combining the power of artificial intelligence and robotics. There’s also Ballie, a small, spherical assistant, also powered by artificial intelligence, that can help you around the home.
But Samsung isn’t happy with how fast it’s developing robotics right now; it wants to go even faster. To make the most of its investment in Rainbow Robotics, Samsung will establish a “synergy council” with Rainbow Robotics. The council’s main goal is to help both companies grow and develop new technologies by combining their skills and expertise. The synergy council will also keep an eye on market trends to make sure that the best business plans are put in place.
In addition to the investment in Rainbow Robotics, Samsung has set up a Future Robotics Office. Dr. Jun-Ho Oh, Rainbow Robotics’ founding member and an honorary professor at KAIST, will act as its head. He will also serve as an advisor to Samsung.
The segment receives more and more competition
Robotics seems to be another one of those segments of the tech industry that could evolve rapidly in the coming years. Elon Musk’s company Tesla has been working for years on Optimus, a humanoid robot designed to perform repetitive—but necessary—tasks that people no longer want to do. Vivo also revealed its intentions to develop humanoid robots. The first results of Vivo’s plan will be visible in approximately five years.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi is working on the CyberOne humanoid robot project and CyberDog robot dogs. Of course, we must also consider the traditional brands of the segment such as Boston Dynamics and Agility Robotics.
