Like every other tech giant out there, Samsung has been investing heavily in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Samsung Research, the R&D hub of Samsung Electronics, has been overseeing the expansion of the company's AI research capabilities. As part of the efforts, Samsung Research set up AI centers in Seoul last November and in Silicon Valley in January this year.
The company is now adding three more to the list with new AI centers that will open in Cambridge (May 22), Toronto (May 24), and Moscow (May 29). Apart from creating cutting-edge research environments, Samsung Research also plans to expand the number of AI researchers globally to 1,000 by 2020.
Samsung's AI research focuses on five core aspects
The AI center in Cambridge will be led by Andrew Blake, “a pioneer in the development of the theory and algorithms that can make it possible for computers to behave as seeing machines.” The center in Toronto will be led by Dr. Larry Heck who is an expert in virtual assistant technologies and is also a Senior VP of Samsung Research America.
Samsung has not announced who will lead the AI center in Moscow but has stated that AI experts such as Professor Dmitry Vetrov (Higher School of Economics) and Professor Victor Lempitsky (Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology) will be part of it.
Samsung says its AI research focuses on five core aspects: AI that is user-centric, always learning, always there, always helpful, and always safe. The work at these AI centers will focus on these core aspects. Samsung has ambitious plans for IoT in the coming years. By embedding AI into a vast array of IoT devices, the company hopes to offer personalized and intelligent services to its users.
“Samsung has a long history of pursuing innovation and we are excited to be bringing that same passion and technology leadership to AI,” said Hyun-suk Kim, President and Head of Samsung Research at the opening ceremony of the new AI Center in Cambridge.
