Hyper Connectivity
Samsung Electronics expressed its will to take the lead in the era of hyper-connectivity by adding automobile technology to its hardware business and strengthening its software competitiveness by means of aggressive M&A. It also said that it would focus on mobile services, connected cars and OLED display technology to ensure its growth in the era of the fourth industrial revolution.
The company held this year’s Samsung Investors Forum in Hong Kong on May 22. There, it announced that it would create a single ecosystem in which smartphones, cars, finance, medical technology and so on are combined with one another. The idea is to create combinations of hardware by using the IoT and seek future growth opportunities based on user experience.
Samsung Electronics is going to accelerate the evolution of its mobile services to this end. “We have innovated smartphones, which are a gateway to a variety of services, and innovated our software at the same time by means of Samsung Knox, Samsung Pay, Samsung Health, Samsung Pass, etc.,” the company explained, adding, “We will continue to find M&A opportunities so that those services can become unique.” Last year, Samsung Electronics acquired U.S.-based luxury appliances maker Dacor, AI startup Viv Labs and San Francisco-based cloud computing firm Joyent in this regard.
Samsung is also planning to provide its AI assistant Bixby across the world by launching its English version in the near future. At present, it is available only in Korean. “We will keep expanding open platforms although connection between Samsung devices comes first,” it went on to say, mentioning that innovative IoT products will be unveiled at this year’s Samsung Developer Conference scheduled for October in San Francisco.
Harman International Industries, which was recently acquired by Samsung Electronics for approximately US$8 billion, is a key part of Samsung’s blueprint, too. The electronics manufacturer is currently regarding automobiles as the center of mobile life comparable to smartphones. “Harman and Samsung will work together to become the leaders of the connected car and self-driving car industries in or before 2025,” said Harman senior director Darrin Shewchuk.