Global R&D Investor
Samsung Electronics ranked second on the world’s top 20 R&D spenders list, beating both Intel and Microsoft.
According to industry sources, the annual study of R&D spending conducted by global management consulting firm Booz & Company shows that from June 2012 to June 2013, Samsung spent 10.974 trillion won (US$10.4 billion) on R&D. As a result, its ranking went up by four notches to 2nd place.
Volkswagen was the world's biggest R&D spender (US$11.4 billion). Roche Holding ranked third (US$10.2 billion), followed by Intel with US$10.1 billion, Microsoft with US$9.8 billion, Toyota with US$9.8 billion and Novartis with US$9.3 billion. The 8th, 9th, and 10th spots were taken by Merck (US$8.2 billion), Pfizer (US$7.9 billion), and Johnson & Johnson (US$7.7 billion), respectively.
Samsung also ranked third on the list of the World’s 10 most innovative companies, up one spot from last year. For four consecutive years, Apple topped the list and Google followed. The next spot was taken by Amazon, followed by 3M, General Electric, Microsoft, IBM, Tesla Motors, and Facebook.
However, it turned out that the most and second-most innovative companies did not fully invest in R&D during the period. Apple was not even on the R&D spenders list, since its spending amounted to only US$3.4 billion. Google, on the other hand, spent US$6.8 billion, and ranked 12th as a result.