Samsung Electronics has announced that it will become the largest shareholder in Rainbow Robotics to accelerate future robot development such as humanoid robots. Samsung first acquired a 14.7% stake in the Korean firm in 2023 with an investment of KRW 86.8 billion, and will exercise a call option to increase its stake to 35%. Rainbow Robotics will also be incorporated as a subsidiary under Samsung Electronics’ consolidated financial statements.
Through collaboration with Rainbow Robotics, Samsung will further strengthen its foundation in the development of advanced robot technology. Rainbow Robotics was founded in 2011 by researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology’s (KAIST) Humanoid Robot Research Center who developed the first two-legged walking robot “Hubo” in Korea.
By combining Samsung Electronics’ AI and software technology with Rainbow Robotics’ robotics technology, the collaboration plans to accelerate the development of intelligent advanced humanoids. Samsung will also form a synergy council with Rainbow Robotics to strengthen leadership in the advanced robot global business, with the council expected to serve as a bridge to foster the growth of both companies by developing future robot technologies and core business strategies and identifying and assessing market demand.
With the collaboration, Samsung plans to utilize Rainbow Robotics’ collaborative robots, dual-arm mobile manipulator, and autonomous mobile robots for manufacturing and logistics automation tasks. These robots can greatly improve their work capabilities by learning and analyzing situational data and environmental variables that occur in the field through AI algorithms. Rainbow Robotics is expected to actively enter overseas markets by utilizing Samsung’s global sales infrastructure.
Dr. Jun-Ho Oh, Founding Member, Rainbow Robotics; Honorary Professor, KAIST
I am excited to contribute to Samsung’s future robot development with my expertise and experience in robotics technology and industry-academia collaboration.