Samsung is expanding its workforce for its robotics unit

South Korea’s tech giant Samsung is beefing up its staff to expand its robotics and AI businesses, ahead of its 2030 mission of transitioning its production lines to AI-driven.

Samsung Electronics quietly began recruiting talent in-house last month for its robotics division Future Robotics Task Force, with applications expected to close Friday. The company is also hiring for its AI unit, according to reports.

The news marks the second time Samsung has hired for its Future Robotics Task Force, which was set up in 2024. The unit oversees all of Samsung’s robotic development, including humanoids.

Samsung wants to make its robot parts

The hiring came with a strong emphasis on internalizing its robot developments. Since this year, Samsung has been talking about internalizing key robot components and building its own technological capabilities.

“By internalizing key robot components, we are securing the capability to directly develop custom parts optimized for the company’s robots,” Park Soon-chul, Samsung Electronics CFO, said during the company’s Q1 earnings call.

Part of the company’s roadmap for the year and next is deploying humanoid robots into its internal processes and production lines, with commercialization still a few years away.

“We plan to first develop manufacturing robots and later expand into home and retail sectors,” Soon-chul said.

Samsung’s AI-driven factories by 2030

Last month, Samsung announced plans to transition all of its manufacturing operations into Agentic AI-driven factories by 2030.

It plans to progressively deploy humanoids and task-specialized robotics across its production lines, starting with its U.S. plant in 2026.

Humanoids are a big part of Samsung’s robotics strategy. As of March, Samsung had filed over 10,347 robot-related patents, according to patent data from KIPRIS. Up to 46 of the applications were related to humanoid technologies.

At the center of Samsung’s humanoid technology is Rainbow Robotics. In 2024, Samsung increased its stake in the South Korean robot maker from 14.7% to 35%, paying KRW 267 billion, or about $181 billion, to become the largest shareholder in the company.

Samsung said the acquisition was aimed at speeding up future developments of its humanoid robots. The company set up its Future Robotics Task Force shortly after the deal.

Shares of Rainbow Robotics Co., Ltd (277810.KQ) are currently up 12% following the news of Samsung’s hire.

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