South Korea-based consumer electronics producer Samsung is considering the formation of a $1bn fund that would invest in artificial intelligence technology, Korean daily Chosun Biz has reported.
The fund would look to invest in and acquire AI technology developers, a US-based executive told the newspaper.
Samsung already makes investments out of the Samsung Ventures unit it formed in 1999, and AI is one of the target areas for the $150m Next fund it announced last month, along with virtual reality and internet of things.
The firm has been stepping up its strategic acquisitions over the past year, having bought a range of companies including conversational AI platform Viv in October, and the new fund would extend that practice as Samsung seeks to introduce AI into more of its products.
BK Yoon, CEO of Samsung’s consumer electronics division, told the Financial Times last month that the company aims to essentially read its customers’ minds in order to anticipate their needs before they do.
“Our focus is really on how we can make life easier for our consumers,” he said. “We will continue to make efforts to develop technology and products that can really read the minds of consumers, so they do not even have to move a finger when they want to do something.”
In addition to strategic investing, Samsung is interested in working with internet technology provider Google to further develop an AI ecosystem, a company representative told The Investor last month.