Samsung Electronics, South Korea's largest technology conglomerate, has announced an ambitious transformation into an "AI-driven company" by 2030, signaling a fundamental shift that could reshape the Korean IT landscape. Roh Tae-moon, acting president of Samsung's Device Experience (DX) division, made this declaration at a press conference in Berlin, Germany, ahead of IFA 2025 on September 7th, stating that the company will "apply AI to all business operations to become an AI-driven company by 2030."
For American readers, this announcement represents more than just another tech company's AI adoption strategy. Samsung Electronics, equivalent to what Apple and Google represent in the U.S. tech ecosystem, is Korea's flagship technology company with global revenues exceeding $200 billion annually. The company's transformation could influence how major American corporations approach AI integration across their operations, particularly in manufacturing and consumer electronics sectors where Samsung directly competes with Apple, Amazon, and Google.
Roh's declaration goes beyond typical product development announcements, encompassing organizational operations and decision-making systems. "We will apply AI to 90% of our business operations, enabling AI to make judgments and decisions on-site," Roh specified, outlining concrete targets that surpass many Silicon Valley companies' current AI integration levels. This systematic approach mirrors the comprehensive AI transformations seen in American tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon, but with Samsung's unique hardware-software integration advantage.
AI Home Ecosystem: Competing with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant
Samsung's "AI Home" concept directly challenges American smart home leaders Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Unlike the voice-first approach popularized by U.S. companies, Samsung's strategy leverages its comprehensive electronics portfolio spanning refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, and smartphones. Roh explained that "Samsung's AI Home provides hyper-personalized experiences based on perfect understanding of users," featuring four core capabilities: automatic adaptation (Ease), daily life management (Care), energy conservation (Save), and security optimization (Secure).
This integrated ecosystem approach represents a significant competitive advantage over American smart home solutions. While Amazon relies on third-party device partnerships and Google focuses primarily on software, Samsung controls the entire hardware stack from semiconductors to finished appliances. For American consumers accustomed to fragmented smart home experiences requiring multiple apps and platforms, Samsung's unified approach could prove compelling if successfully executed in the U.S. market.
The strategic implications extend beyond consumer convenience. Samsung's hardware-software integration mirrors Apple's ecosystem strategy but applies it to home appliances where Apple has limited presence. This positioning could challenge American companies' dominance in smart home markets, particularly as Samsung already holds significant U.S. market share in appliances and television segments.
Galaxy AI Expansion: Targeting 400 Million Devices
Samsung's mobile AI strategy targets 400 million Galaxy devices within 2025, a scale that rivals Apple's iPhone installed base. This massive deployment represents one of the largest AI rollouts in consumer technology history, potentially surpassing Apple's Intelligence features in reach and functionality. For American consumers, this means Samsung devices may soon offer more advanced AI capabilities than competing American-made products.
The data collection implications are substantial. With 400 million devices gathering user behavior data, Samsung could develop AI algorithms with unprecedented training datasets. This data advantage could enable Samsung to compete more effectively with American tech giants who have traditionally dominated AI development through superior data collection capabilities. American companies like Google and Apple may find themselves challenged by Samsung's hardware-generated data advantage in AI algorithm training.
Furthermore, Samsung's approach creates a virtuous cycle of data collection and algorithm improvement that could accelerate beyond American competitors. While Apple prioritizes privacy and limits data collection, Samsung's comprehensive device ecosystem enables more extensive user behavior analysis, potentially leading to more sophisticated AI capabilities over time.
Korean IT Industry AI Competition Intensifies
Samsung's AI transformation occurs amid broader Korean technology sector initiatives that could impact American companies' Asian strategies. Naver, Korea's equivalent to Google, launched AI-powered search service "AI Briefing" and personalized shopping platform "Naver Plus Store" in the first quarter of 2025. Kakao, comparable to Facebook in Korean social media dominance, is developing conversational AI messenger "Canana" for full-scale AI service deployment.
For American readers, this Korean AI acceleration resembles the rapid innovation cycles that characterized Silicon Valley's early internet and mobile eras. Just as Naver and Kakao previously led internet and mobile innovation in Korea, these companies now compete in AI while Samsung provides the hardware foundation. This coordinated ecosystem development could challenge American companies' expansion plans in Asian markets, where Korean brands already enjoy strong consumer preference.
Industry experts predict Samsung's AI transformation will blur manufacturing and service industry boundaries, creating new business models that combine hardware manufacturing with AI-driven services. This hybrid approach could expand Samsung's market reach beyond traditional B2C segments into B2B and B2G markets, potentially competing with American enterprise technology providers like IBM, Oracle, and Salesforce in Korean and broader Asian markets.
Strategic Challenges and Market Implications
Despite ambitious goals, Samsung faces significant implementation challenges. The company must manage organizational change across hundreds of thousands of employees while maintaining profitability during heavy AI investment periods. Roh acknowledged these challenges, stating "we are working to improve second-half performance" while balancing short-term results with long-term AI investments.
For American investors and companies, Samsung's transformation signals intensifying global AI competition. The company's hardware manufacturing capabilities combined with comprehensive AI integration could create competitive advantages that American software-focused companies may struggle to match. Companies like Apple, which rely on Samsung for component manufacturing, may find themselves competing against an increasingly AI-sophisticated supplier.
The success of Samsung's AI-driven transformation could strengthen Korean IT industry global competitiveness, potentially challenging American technological leadership in artificial intelligence and smart device markets. As Korean companies coordinate AI ecosystem development, American firms may need to accelerate their own AI integration strategies to maintain competitive positioning in global technology markets.
Original Korean article: https://trendy.storydot.kr/tech-samsung-ai-transformation-sep08/
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