Samsung has been a leader in the internet of things space for some time now, but it looks like the company is set to get even more serious about the space — so much so that it’s going to invest a whopping $1.2 billion in the U.S. over the next four years on research and development into connecting everyday devices.
According to Samsung, that $1.2 billion will be split evenly between internal research and development, and investing in related startups, proving that Samsung is becoming increasingly partner-friendly.
Of course, Samsung isn’t new to the internet of things, however its new efforts are an attempt to compete with the likes of Qualcomm and Intel, and will see Samsung creating chips that can be used by other manufacturers in the creation of their own internet of things devices.
“At Samsung, putting people at the center of everything we do is our highest value,” said Samsung vice chairman and CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon in a statement. “The same must be true for IoT if we want to realize its full transformative power. Today, IoT is changing individual lives — helping people to age in their own homes. But tomorrow, using IoT, we can give the same independence to millions of Americans.”
The $600 million in internal investment will go straight to two of Samsung’s research centers, which are located in the Silicon Valley area. That money will be focused squarely on developing technology to power internet of things devices. For example, it will create chips for other companies to use — a business that Samsung has rather vigorously pursued in the past few years, now sitting as the second largest chip-maker in the world. Just last year the company announced a new series of processors, called the Artik series, which was developed specifically for low-powered internet of things devices.
It will certainly be interesting to see what Samsung comes up with over the next few years, especially considering the rate of growth of the internet of things market.
