Samsung further intelligence push with New York AI hub

Samsung Electronics has announced it will open a new AI research centre in New York, focusing on the intersection of AI, robotics, and neuroscience.

In its mission to employ 1,000 AI specialists by 2020, the New York office will be the sixth AI centre around the world, adding to the ones in Korea, Silicon Valley, UK, Canada and Russia, which were announced back in May. The office will be led by Daniel Lee, EVP of Samsung Research, but only on a part-time basis, continuing his work at Cornell Tech university.

“New York is one of the world’s great cities, and with this new facility we will be able to leverage the tremendous talent in the area,” said Lee. “We also look forward to collaborating with top universities and academic centres in the region.”

“What we need now is to focus on creating new values that make people’s lives easier and more convenient by harnessing the power of AI in Samsung’s products and services,” said Hyun-suk Kim, Head of Samsung Research, the advanced R&D arm of Samsung Electronics’ device business. “To do this, our Global AI Centers, including the New York AI Center, must play a pivotal role.”

While it is hardly unusual for a tech heavyweight to bolster its credentials in the AI world, Samsung has been working hard to expand and diversify its capabilities. Outside of AI, the Samsung C-Lab, its own answer to Google’s moonshot labs, has been receiving more attention. Back in June, Samsung announced it would spin out three more projects from its in-house start-up incubation programme, taking the total up to 34 spin offs since 2015.

With $22 billion set aside to invest in AI and 5G to reverse slight set-backs in the smartphone markets, this might not be the last time we hear about Samsung slinging the cash about.