Samsung Next, the early-stage technology investment fund launched by Korea-based electronics producer Samsung, launched a vehicle yesterday aimed at the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.
The Q Fund will not have an investment cap and will tap into the existing $150m allocated to Samsung Next when it launched in January 2017.
The initiative will focus on seed and series A-stage startups, collaborating closely with academic researchers and other innovators to have a broad exposure to AI technologies.
Areas of interest for the Q Fund include intuitive physics, robot control, human-computer interaction and automated machine learning.
Samsung Next revealed it had recently invested Covariant.AI, a US-based robotics developer spun out from University of California, Berkeley formerly known as Embodied Intelligence.
Covariant raised a $7m in a seed round in November 2017 led by venture capital firm Amplify Partners, with participation from Lux Capital, SV Angels, FreeS, 11.2 Capital and A.Capital. It is not clear when the Q Fund invested in the company.
Ajay Singh, director at Samsung Next, said: “There are multiple approaches to building fundamental AI technology. And we want to invest in the people and teams who will try new approaches to lay the groundwork for what AI will be.
“For this reason, Q Fund will prioritise technical diligence over revenue models.”