Samsung and LG’s Robot Investment Surge, Expanding the Humanoid Market to 6.8 Billion KRW
Editor
There is intriguing news that domestic conglomerates are rapidly increasing their investments in the robot business this year. Notably, Samsung Electronics’ purchase volume of Rainbow Robotics has exceeded 6.8 billion KRW, a fivefold increase compared to last year. This is not merely an increase in numbers but a signal that domestic conglomerates are seriously considering humanoid robots as a future growth engine.
According to the quarterly report submitted by Rainbow Robotics, the volume purchased by Samsung Electronics up to the third quarter of this year amounts to 6.876 billion KRW. This is a remarkable increase compared to last year’s total of 1.46 billion KRW. It seems that the transactions have become more active since Samsung Electronics became the largest shareholder (35.0% stake) of Rainbow Robotics in March this year.
Personally, the most interesting part is that Samsung Research America also purchased 195 million KRW worth of shares. It is reported that quadrupedal robots have been introduced for workplace patrols at the Silicon Valley R&D hub, indicating that Samsung is expanding robot technology beyond manufacturing into various fields.
LG Electronics Joins In, Initiates First Transaction with Robotis
LG Electronics has also made its first purchase of 24 million KRW worth of shares from Robotis this year. Although the amount is smaller compared to Samsung Electronics, considering that LG Electronics has invested 9 billion KRW since 2017 to hold a 7.4% stake in Robotis, it seems that a full-scale collaboration is finally beginning. The fact that they have started transactions for the first time this year after holding shares for seven years is significant in itself.
The actuators developed by Robotis are key components of humanoid robots. These parts, which function as human joints, muscles, and nerves, are essential for implementing sophisticated robot arms and hands. The ‘HX5-D20’ robotic hand product showcased by Robotis at the Robot Learning Conference held at COEX in September demonstrates a significant advancement in technology.
LG Electronics is aggressively expanding its home humanoid robot business with the goal of ‘liberation from household chores.’ Recently, they have also completed the recruitment of actuator and reducer developers at Changwon LG Smart Park, indicating efforts to secure in-house development personnel. This suggests a move towards internalization beyond merely purchasing parts externally.
Rapid Growth of the Global Humanoid Robot Market
These moves by domestic conglomerates align with the rapid growth of the global humanoid robot market. The global humanoid robot market size is estimated to be approximately 1.8 billion USD by 2025, with an expected annual growth rate of 52.1% until 2030. The increasing demand for automation in manufacturing and advancements in AI technology are major growth drivers.
Tesla’s Optimus robot is set to enter pilot production by the end of 2024, and Boston Dynamics’ Atlas has already reached the commercialization stage. China’s UBTech is targeting the home market with its Walker series, and Japan’s Honda and SoftBank are accelerating the development of successor models to ASIMO and Pepper, respectively.
In this global competitive landscape, the proactive investments by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics seem timely. Notably, Samsung Electronics is enhancing humanoid robot technology based on various AI platforms from NVIDIA. Utilizing NVIDIA’s robot simulation platforms, Isaac Sim and Omniverse, can significantly reduce robot development time.
Samsung Electronics’ Future Robot Promotion Team leader, Oh Jun-ho, recently mentioned, “Humanoid robots will sequentially enter the service industry, starting with manufacturing,” which can be understood in this context. With some research and development outcomes already achieved, we may soon see concrete results.
In fact, the news that Samsung Heavy Industries and Rainbow Robotics signed a business agreement last month to supply robots for the transition to smart shipyards is also intriguing. The shipbuilding industry, with its many hazardous and repetitive tasks, is expected to benefit greatly from robot automation. While domestic shipbuilders like Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering are already utilizing welding and painting robots, the introduction of humanoid robots could enable a different level of automation.
Rainbow Robotics’ technological prowess is also at a considerable level. They are developing not only collaborative robots, dual-arm robots, and autonomous mobile robots but also key components like actuators and dexterous hands (hands that move precisely). The use of Rainbow Robotics’ mobile dual-arm robot by Samsung Display to showcase the characteristics of OLED at Computex in Taiwan this May is an example of their technological level.
Personally, it is encouraging to see the domestic robot parts ecosystem maturing. In the past, most key components had to be imported from Japan or Germany, but now the quality of domestic parts like Robotis’ actuators and Rainbow Robotics’ reducers has significantly improved. Particularly, Robotis’ Dynamixel series has become a standard among robot researchers worldwide.
However, there are still many challenges to address. For the commercialization of humanoid robots, battery technology, AI algorithms, and sensor fusion technology need further development. Safety issues, in particular, remain a major hurdle. While factories operate in relatively controlled environments, unexpected situations frequently occur in homes or the service industry.
Nonetheless, the recent investment expansion by domestic conglomerates is undoubtedly significant. The transactions initiated by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, amounting to 6.8 billion KRW and 24 million KRW respectively, are largely exploratory, but the scale of future transactions is likely to increase exponentially. In particular, Samsung Electronics can expect synergy effects with its existing businesses such as semiconductors and displays.
The domestic robot market is expected to be quite exciting in the coming years. With the active participation of global electronics companies like Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, the pace of technology development will accelerate, and specialized companies like Rainbow Robotics and Robotis will have greater growth opportunities. Although competition with overseas competitors will intensify, considering the technological capabilities and manufacturing prowess of domestic companies, they are likely to remain competitive.
This article was written after reading a news article, adding personal opinions and analysis.
Disclaimer: This blog is not a news outlet, and the content is the author’s personal opinion. The responsibility for investment decisions lies with the investor, and no liability is assumed for investment losses based on the content of this article.
