Samsung’s entry into humanoid robotics will provide a fresh boost to the emerging sector, paving the way for faster growth, said China’s top stock brokerage firm CITIC Securities.
Samsung Electronics has set its sights on the development of a humanoid robot as the tech company reviews the mid-to-long-term strategy of its robot business, South Korea’s JooangAng Daily reported on August 3.
A planning team under the Device eXperience (DX) division is developing a business strategy to branch out into humanoids, at the behest of Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong.
Lee reportedly mentioned Tesla’s humanoid robot and ordered a detailed review of Samsung’s robot business, JoongAng Daily cited an industry insider as saying.
Samsung’s foray into humanoid robotics, a red-hot segment that’s in the media spotlight of late, has met with excitement and enthusiasm from the global robotic community.
This move followed the launch of humanoids by industrial tech giants like Tesla, Microsoft, Xiaomi and more.
According to the interpretations of CITIC’s analysts, this development aligns with their predictions of general tech juggernauts and home appliance powerhouses looking to diversify their businesses with a faster expansion into robotics.
In a research note, CITIC said that integration of large language models (LLMs) and robotics, as represented by OpenAI, Microsoft and Google, will empower the humanoid robot sector.
Apart from carmakers and tech titans, traditional robotic firms like CloudMinds (达闼科技) and Fourier Intelligence (傅利叶智能) have also recently extended their product lines to include humanoids.
Home appliance makers, based on their accumulated know-how and sales channel advantages, are also expected to tap more deeply into robotics, said CITIC analysts.
They added the humanoid space has been picking up speed, with one positive development after another.
The analysts thus advised investors to pay attention to the World Robot Conference 2023 scheduled to be held in Beijing, Tesla’s 2023 AI Day, new product launches by Xiaomi and a fusion of LLMs and humanoids.
As for specific companies or segments to watch, they recommend robot builders and suppliers of core parts, including, gear reducer, motor drive, linear drive, sensor, servo system, bearing, joint integration and intelligent transition, among others.
Caveats do apply though. Investors should be aware of risks that the marriage between LLM and robotics, the potential of robotic applications and the progress of robotic technologies could well fall short of expectations, CITIC explained.
