Samsung to Invest $1.2 Billion in 'Internet of Things' Startups and Research in U.S.
June 21 2016 - 09:40AM
Dow Jones News
WASHINGTON—Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday that it will
invest $1.2 billion in the U.S. over four years to boost
technologies aimed at adding computing power to everyday devices, a
movement dubbed the "internet of things."
The South Korean electronics giant said the funds would be split
evenly between internal research and development and investments in
other startups. Executives said the funding announcement marked a
continuation of Samsung's increasing openness to partnerships and
strategic investments, which it long shunned.
Samsung had announced prior initiatives around the internet of
things. But executives said the new funding represents an
acceleration of the company's attempt to compete with Intel Corp.,
Qualcomm Inc. and others to create chips and other hardware that
manufacturers can incorporate into gadgets to make them
internet-connected. Predictions vary widely, but IDC has forecast
that the global internet of things market will be worth $1.7
trillion by 2020.
Samsung's investment will be aimed at a variety of
internet-of-things applications, including digital health; "smart
machines" such as drones, robots and autonomous vehicles; and
companies making software to process the massive data produced by
these devices, said Young Sohn, Samsung's president and chief
strategy officer.
Samsung last week said it would acquire Joyent Inc., a San
Francisco company that rents the use of computer servers and data
centers to other companies. Last year, Samsung announced a set of
technologies, called Artik, to connect objects and computing power
to support those objects.
The $600 million in internal investment will go to Samsung's two
U.S. research facilities in Silicon Valley, where it will focus on
technology for powering the internet of things—such as chips and
products—for existing markets.
Samsung is the world's leading manufacturer of smartphones,
televisions and memory chips, but has been seeking new markets as
its growth has slowed and its market share in mobile devices
eroded.
Samsung's outlay for the internet of things is large by industry
standards but a fraction of the electronics giant's $14.1 billion
in global R&D spending in 2015, second only to Volkswagen AG's
$15.3 billion R&D outlay, according to
PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Write to Christopher Mims at christopher.mims@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 21, 2016 09:25 ET (13:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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