Samsung bets on robots and AI to transform manufacturing

Samsung Electronics has disclosed that it will principally direct its robotics technology to the automation of manufacturing processes, and only then it will deploy robots for business and consumer use.

The plan was unveiled by the company’s CEO, Roh Tae-moon, at a press conference during the CES 2026 event in Las Vegas.

Factories to be first testing ground for robots

Roh mentioned that Samsung’s main target is to bring robots to its factories. He stated that the facilities will get better through robots having increased efficiency and accuracy as well as productivity.

He believes that the know-how and experience obtained from factory operations will later allow Samsung to enter the market for industrial (B2B) and personal (B2C) robotics.

Samsung has been continuously allocating resources to the robotics sector in its quest for long-term technological leadership.

Following the recruiting of the South Korean formerly famous robotics company Rainbow Robotics last year, the technology giant’s position that it is well serious about the invention of advanced robots, sketches of humanoid ones included. To put a long tale short, in past years, Samsung also presented its ball-shaped smart home robot dubbed “Ballie” at CES 2024, clearly asserting its interest in home robotics.

Nonetheless, Roh made it clear that while Samsung has high hopes for robots, it is opting for the latter. Rather than making robots available to consumers and the public from the get-go, the company prefers to first concentrate on parts where the machines will have the most immediate and visible impact.

Manufacturing automation is thus regarded as the prime candidate for the initiation of the process.

Roh mentioned that soon after the robotics project has been advanced to a certain stage, Samsung will install the robots in the company’s factories first. Only after a successful implementation and the acquisition of knowledge from these setups will the company open the door to the public for the use of robots.

The CEO also mentioned about the acquisition and merger future plans of Samsung. The company’s primary areas of concern for the coming investments and acquisitions are HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), automotive parts, medical tech, and robotics.

Through investment in the above-mentioned areas, Samsung tries to make sure that the consumers and society as a whole reap the benefits through innovation.

Samsung has already made several significant acquisitions recently. Among these are the purchase of the German HVAC company FlaktGroup Holding GmbH and the acquisition of the automotive technology division of the German company ZF Friedrichshafen AG.

These acquisitions indicate that Samsung is determined to be a player in the technological forefront.

Samsung not only invests heavily in robots but in AI (artificial intelligence) as well. Roh stated the company’s intention to incorporate AI into all its major products. This means that the Galaxy smartphones, the high-end TVs, and even home appliances which are connected to the internet will have AI.

Samsung’s strategy is to increase the global market for AI-based devices. Roh disclosed the company’s hope of distributing approximately 400 million devices with AI capability worldwide within a year, as reported by IANS.

This is indicative of Samsung’s assumption that AI would become one of the main drivers of consumer experience in the future.

In general, the strategy of Samsung reveals a very cautious and gradual manner.

First of all, the company plans to upgrade its production with advanced technologies like robots and AI and therefore, it won’t be a problem to secure the necessary terrain for the inevitable expansion to other business and consumer domains.