Aju Business Daily

Samsung Electronics took another step to firm its ground in the competitive next-generation automotive market by creating a 300 million-dollar fund aimed at developing technology for connected cars.

It is Samsung's second largest investment in the sector since it completed the eight billion-dollar acquisition of US-based Harman International, a major connected technology and lifestyle audio solution company, in March.

"The Samsung Automotive Innovation Fund will focus on connected car and autonomous technologies," Samsung said in a statement on Thursday. Related technologies include smart sensors, machine vision, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, connectivity solutions, automotive-grade safety solutions, security, and privacy.

Samsung has established a new Autonomous/ADAS Strategic Business Unit (SBU) in Harman to lead the market in shaping the future of connected vehicles. The tech giant has also secured licenses for on-road testing of autonomous driving software and hardware under development.

Samsung said the company and HARMAN will focus on engineering, high-performance computing, sensor technologies, algorithms, artificial intelligence, as well as connectivity and cloud solutions that enable Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and automated driving.

However, Samsung stressed in Thursday's statement that it would not enter the car manufacturing business but focus on working with other carmakers and developers to develop technology related to next-generation connected cars.

The connected car market is seen as a key element of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. According to data from Research and Markets, the global shipment of connected cars would rise to 37.7 million units in 2022. Currently, American companies such as Tesla and Google are leading the market with Chinese firms on the pursuit. South Korea is the newcomer with Hyundai and Naver developing platforms for their own AI and communication networks.

Samsung has secured licenses for on-road testing of autonomous driving software and hardware under development.