The investment plan is expected to help the company to reach its goal of becoming the world leader in not only memory semiconductors but also logic chips by 2030. The company also plans to create 15,000 jobs in R&D and production to bolster its technological prowess.

The investments through 2030 will be composed of KRW 73 trillion for domestic R&D and KRW 60 trillion for production infrastructure. Per this plan, investments in R&D and facilities for logic semiconductors are expected to amount to an average KRW 11 trillion per year until 2030.

Samsung Research, the advanced R&D hub of Samsung Electronics’ SET (end-products) business, has ranked first in two of the world’s top global artificial intelligence (AI) machine reading comprehension competitions.

Samsung Research recently placed first in the MAchine Reading COmprehension (MS MARCO) Competition held by Microsoft (MS), as well as showing the best performance in TriviaQA^* hosted by the University of Washington, proving the excellence of its AI algorithm.

With intense competition in developing AI technologies globally, machine reading comprehension competitions such as MS MARCO are booming around the world. MS MARCO and TriviaQA are among the actively researched and used machine reading comprehension competitions along with SQuAD of Stanford University and NarrativeQA of DeepMind. Distinguished universities around the world and global AI firms including Samsung are competing in these challenges.

Machine reading comprehension is where an AI algorithm is tasked with analyzing data and finding an optimum answer to a query on its own accord. For MS MARCO and TriviaQA, AI algorithms are tested in their capabilities of processing natural language in human Q&As and also providing written text in various types of documents such as news articles and blog posts.

For example in MS MARCO, ten web documents are presented for a certain query to let an AI algorithm create an optimum answer. Queries are randomly selected from a million queries from Bing (MS search engine) users. Answers are evaluated statistically by estimating how close they are with human answers. This is a test designed to apply an AI algorithm to solve real-world problems.

Samsung Research took part in the competitions with ConZNet, an AI algorithm developed by the company’s AI Center. ConZNet features skillful capabilities through adopting the Reinforcement Learning^** technique, which advances machine intelligence by giving reasonable feedback for outcomes, similar to a stick-and-carrot strategy in a learning process.

With the recent acceleration in global competition to develop AI technologies, contests are widespread in areas of computer vision (technologies to analyze characters and images) and visual Q&A to solve problems using recognized images of characters as well as machine reading comprehension. The Beijing branch of Samsung Research won the International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition (ICDAR) hosted by the International Association of Pattern Recognition (IAPR) in March, putting them in a top-tier group for global computer vision tests. The ICDAR is the most influential competition in Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technologies.

“We are developing an AI algorithm to provide answers to user queries in a simpler and more convenient manner, for real life purposes,” said Jihie Kim, Head of Language Understanding Lab at Samsung Research. “Active discussion is underway in Samsung to adopt the ConZNet AI algorithm for products, services, customer response and technological development.”

^* Competitions such as MS MARCO and TriviaQA allow contestants to participate at any time, and rankings are altered according to real-time test results.

^** The Reinforcement Learning is the most advanced Machine Learning AI algorithm, and cutting-edge AI technologies including AlphaGo are upgrading machine intelligence by applying this technique.

The question of how AI technologies understand human dialog and queries to suggest an optimum answer is one of the hot topics in the AI industry. Jihie Kim, Head of the Language Understanding Lab at Samsung Research AI Center, is also striving to develop the technology behind an AI algorithm that can talk with people naturally and propose solutions to a problem.

The Language Understanding Lab led by Dr. Kim recently grabbed global attention after placing top ranks at global machine reading comprehension competitions held by Microsoft and the University of Washington, respectively. Samsung Newsroom visited the Samsung Research AI center in Seocho-gu, Korea to interview Dr. Kim about AI performance in the machine reading comprehension competitions and a future evolution plan for AI algorithms.

Jihie Kim, Head of the Language Understanding Lab at Samsung Research

Q. Please tell us about the MS MARCO and TriviaQA competitions held by Microsoft and the University of Washington, respectively, where your team ranked first place.

Kim: There have been many global machine reading competitions recently where AI presents solutions to a problem. MS MARCO and TriviaQA are among the top five global competitions in machine reading comprehension. AI algorithms are tested on whether they can understand and analyze questions to offer answers. Those tests are designed by referring to internet users’ queries and search results.

Q. What do you think was the critical factor in excelling at the AI competitions which require such high levels of technical expertise?

Kim: The ConZNet algorithm developed by the Language Understanding Lab at Samsung Reseach is upgrading its intelligence by considering real user environments. The algorithm takes natural language into account such as how people deliver queries and answers online. We were able to win those competitions because the MS MARCO and TriviaQA competitions are about AI capabilities in real user environments. In truth, our algorithm was a bit behind other competitors in tests requiring a simple answer to a question after analyzing a short paragraph. But because such technologies have low relevance to real environments using AI technologies, we are focusing on the other tests such as MS MARCO in proceeding with continuous R&D.

Q. Do you apply the winning algorithms to customer services in real life?

Kim: An Open Lab event was held recently to introduce the labs at Samsung Research to other departments in Samsung Electronics. At the event, we had in-depth discussions with engineers in our home appliances and smartphone departments about AI algorithms. Departments dealing with customer services also showed high interest in what we do because AI-based customer services including chatbots are emerging as a hot topic. We hope that our technologies developed at Samsung Research will be naturally adopted to Samsung Electronics products and services.

Dr. Kim and the developers of the Language Understanding Lab at Samsung Research are participating in an ideation meeting.

Q. What is your future evolution plan for advancing AI technologies in language understanding?

Kim: ConZNet is an acronym for “Context Zoom-in Network.” The name implies that understanding the context of what people say is critical. We need to advance AI technologies to help them understand and analyze short sentences. AI algorithms also need to have capabilities to analyze real-time news reports rather than existing data to give answers to customer queries. We are also developing technologies where an AI algorithm can answer, “there are no proper answers to your query,” as well as search for right answers. The so-called “rejection problem” is an AI technology with a high level of technical difficulties.

Q. Please tell us your ultimate goal in developing AI technologies.

Kim: The strengths of Samsung in the AI industry are that we can build a knowledge system about connections between machines and applications, and customer demands in the internet of things (IoT) environment comprised of personal devices, based on Samsung Electronics’ diverse product lineup. This will help us to achieve the goal of realizing a user-oriented AI system by collaborating with global partners in the industry. Samsung Electronics recently began to launch global AI Centers and we will lead the effort of working with AI experts at the new centers abroad.

Hadrian Baumann, President of Samsung Electronics Poland is opening Samsung Incubator

“Samsung Incubator was created in the eastern region of the country, beyond the business centre of Poland, to help stimulate growth in the area, making it the first such project in the region,” said Hadrian Baumann, President of Samsung Electronics Poland. “Creating an incubator for startups is another avenue for Samsung to increase its commitment to the digitization of Poland.”

The Incubator in Action

In addition to Samsung Incubator’s overall aim of building digital capabilities and facilitating the development of technological projects in Poland, a key part of the startup program is the constant support of Samsung experts.  Experienced managers help young companies develop business models and verify market demand for technological solutions, and engineers at Samsung R&D Institute share their knowledge about global product development.

Individuals or teams can apply to the Samsung Incubator if they have already developed a business concept or a prototype of their product. During the three-month acceleration program, Samsung provides space for creative work and advanced equipment as well as mentor support and expert consultation at every stage of the process. As part of the Incubator, participants can also benefit from intensive training and assistance in finding business, technology, and funding partners.

Samsung’s Larger Efforts in Poland

Samsung has long been committed to Poland at the business level where it operates one of the largest research and development centers in Warsaw as well as a modern home appliances factory in Wronki. As part of the company’s citizenship efforts in the country, the company has, in addition to Samsung Incubator, also been involved in the digitization of Polish society for years.

For instance, since 2013, the company has supported programming classes for children in Polish schools and kindergartens. With the Coding Masters initiative, Samsung has already collaborated with 1,700 institutions, nearly 4,000 teachers, and 100,000 pupils from all over Poland. The company also operates Samsung LABO, an educational program for technical schools designed to help older students take the first steps in their new career path. In addition, Samsung is involved in the international start-up center – The Heart Warsaw – which aims to develop and stimulate start-up cooperation with corporations.

Samsung’s efforts in Poland are in line with the Polish government’s efforts in the country. “It is Poland’s ambition to become a European hub of new technologies in a few years. We have fantastic technical college graduates in Poland, we have a governmental development strategy oriented to high technology, and we have Polish start-ups, which are increasingly venturing to conquer foreign markets,” said Polish Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Economic Development and Finance Mateusz Morawiecki. “That’s why cooperation between large companies and small ventures created by young, ambitious people is so important and it is important that such significant market players like Samsung notice that.”

As part of its efforts to help digitize Poland through initiatives like the Samsung Incubator and other projects, Samsung will remain committed to supporting young innovative companies by sharing its experiences, as well as helping Polish innovators create excellent products and solutions with global potential.

“I heard that Samsung built and developed an R&D center for mobile technology in Vietnam. I really wanted to learn more about it,” said Le Xuan An, an IT student from Hanoi University of Science & Technology. His desire was fulfilled on May 14 when Samsung Vietnam Mobile R&D Center (SVMC) invited him to participate in SVMC Open Day 2016 – a program for IT students in Vietnam to learn about SVMC and get hands-on experience with Samsung technology.

The Open Day included more than 100 university seniors who dream of having careers in IT. The chance to explore the most cutting edge technologies of Samsung Electronics in Vietnam put smiles on everyone’s faces.

The event started at 8 a.m. All of the latest flagship mobile devices of Samsung were showcased to visitors in a presentation by SVMC engineers. For most, the highlight was the chance to experience the stunning virtual reality of the Gear VR. “It is truly spectacular. The Gear VR feels totally different from playing games on regular smartphones,” said one excited student after playing the game Temple Run with the Gear VR. They also sounded quite impressed by the unique features and aesthetics of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. “I believe the Galaxy S7 is the best smartphone ever,” said a student from Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology.

100 technology students from six universities enjoy a hands-on look at Samsung’s cutting-edge devices for SVMC Open Day

The event continued with an introduction to SVMC, beginning with an opening speech by Vice President Huh Chang Wan. This was the first SVMC Open Day, organized to welcome professors and students from six universities that have collaborated with Samsung in Vietnam. The students also enjoyed an opportunity to learn about the history and development of SVMC. Founded in 2012, SVMC has become Samsung Electronics’ largest mobile R&D Center in Southeast Asia (SEA).

During SVMC Open Day, students learn about Samsung Electronics’ history in Vietnam and engage in discussions about Samsung products and design philosophy. #1

During SVMC Open Day, students learn about Samsung Electronics’ history in Vietnam and engage in discussions about Samsung products and design philosophy. #2

Students then received an in-depth look into Samsung and SVMC technologies. SVMC’s business covers a wide range of mobile technologies and platforms, including software R&D, software engineering, mobile evaluation and network verification. The SVMC R&D region extends from Southeast Asia to Australia, New Zealand and Middle East. “How does Samsung conduct product lifecycle management?” and “What makes Samsung smartphones stand out?” were two major topics discussed between students and software engineers. In addition, “Be user-friendly”, “Think-outside-of-the-screen” and “Be an artist” were three key goals used by SVMC engineers on every project and for every model, creating the unique characteristics of Samsung smartphones.

Finally, students toured the SVMC offices. “It was so amazing to have the chance to see how software engineers work at a world-leading company. I hope I will get to join them in the near future when I graduate university,” said Quynh Trang, a student from University of Engineering Technology.

Mr. Huh Chang Wan (center), Vice President of SVMC Management, and students

Source: Vietnam Newsroom

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman & CEO Dr. Oh-Hyun Kwon unveiled today Samsung’s vision for ‘Human-Centered IoT,’ including a strategy to spend $1.2 billion over 4 years for U.S.-based Internet of Things (IoT) R&D and investments. This will be led by the Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center, Global Innovation Center and Samsung Research America, part of Samsung’s U.S. footprint of more than 15,000 employees across the country.

Vice Chairman Kwon delivered this news in a speech as part of a Samsung-hosted forum in Washington, D.C. The event, entitled Internet of Things: Transforming the Future, brought together technology industry leaders with policymakers and influencers to discuss the many ways IoT can benefit society, and how to tackle the challenges that remain in bringing it to scale.

Vice Chairman Kwon called for his peers to “start talking and thinking differently about IoT,” with a human-centered approach, embracing the life-changing possibilities of the technology and working together to bring these benefits to society at-large.

“I am excited to show how we are moving IoT to the center of our strategy and am delighted to announce that Samsung is planning to spend $1.2 Billion in U.S.-centered IoT investments and R&D over the next 4 years,” said Vice Chairman Kwon.

“At Samsung, putting people at the center of everything we do is our highest value,” said Kwon. “The same must be true for IoT if we want to realize its full transformative power. Today, IoT is changing individual lives – helping people to age in their own homes. But tomorrow, using IoT, we can give the same independence to millions of Americans. We can keep people out of hospitals and nursing homes. As our populations live longer, these benefits and cost savings for society cannot be ignored.”

In his keynote Vice Chairman Kwon offered industry and policymakers two principles in addition to a ‘human-centered’ approach: to be open and collaborative.

“If we want innovators everywhere to make use of IoT, we must make sure all tools are open to them. This means technologies that connect to each other, because we know that boundaries around technologies hold back innovation and scale,” the Vice Chairman said.

He also warned that sector-specific regulations would inherently fragment the development of IoT, impeding devices and platforms from connecting to each other.

As the IoT ecosystem is by nature connected and interwoven, collaboration is vital to promoting this level of openness and interconnection. In this vein, Vice Chairman Kwon urged attendees to pursue cross-sector dialogue and partnerships, and announced Samsung’s role as a co-founder of the newly launched National IoT Strategy Dialogue.

The Dialogue, to be hosted by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), will design a National IoT Strategy as a tool to inform policy makers on enabling the technology to deliver benefits for individuals, communities, innovators and the U.S. economy.

This announcement, Vice Chairman Kwon reinforced, “is not about the first steps – that’s because IoT is already happening all around us. It’s time to imagine the transformative potential of IoT for our societies – and learn how to achieve its human, social benefits at scale.”

The event is part of Vision for Tomorrow, Samsung’s recently launched public affairs platform for cross-sector collaboration around issues affecting the policy dialogue in the U.S. and around the world.

For more information and to join the conversation visit @SamsungDC, #VisionforTech

Click Here to Download Vice Chairman Kwon’s Keynote.

The newest additions to Samsung’s line-up of Galaxy smartphones are officially unpacked. Samsung Newsroom met with Tae Moon Roh, Executive Vice President and Head of Hardware R&D and Product strategy of Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Communications Business, and one of the key people behind the development of the new devices, to discuss the starting points of the development of the Galaxy S7. During the interview, Roh also explored the challenges he and his colleagues had to overcome during the process, as well as the driving forces behind Samsung’s ceaseless pursuit to provide users with an unparalleled mobile experience.

Q. Can you tell us about the Galaxy S7?

Consumer feedback and analysis of past Galaxy S series models has helped us develop the new Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

We thoroughly studied changing trends in how consumers really use their smartphones especially with regards to SNS, video, camera and gaming. The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge are optimized for those purposes, while still maintaining a beautiful design.

We also added practical features like water and dust resistant technology, a microSD card slot and a longer battery life. By perfecting these key features, we are able to provide an unparalleled mobile experience.

Q. What were the challenges in developing the new devices?

It’s true that many smartphone technologies are already advanced. Yet, what’s more important is to deliver the most advanced features harmoniously and provide the best user experience for consumers.

We spent almost a year and half to find a way to maintain the perfect design and add the water and dust resistance feature. It was challenging because every one of us had to brainstorm creative ideas to develop something that is totally different from what we’ve been doing before from elements to manufacturing.

Smartphone cameras have advanced remarkably, but there is still a strong need for brighter and faster shooting under low light conditions. This time, we really focused on how to meet those needs, not just increasing the number of pixels.

The dual pixel technology for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge camera was very challenging. Though the technology is embedded in certain DSLR cameras, it’s novel for the smartphone industry. We wanted to make sure consumers could actually feel and see the improvements in the picture quality in all situations.

Q. What is the driving force for Samsung mobile’s innovation?

Very simply, consumers drive Samsung’s innovation. They are our inspiration to move new technology, services and solutions forward.

For example, we have a Samsung Members Program, specialized for each region. Through this program, we will hear directly from our customers, provide a self-diagnosis service and run communities for our consumers. Listening carefully to customers and finding the right way to realize it, that’s our driving force.

Also, along with our solid product line-ups, we will continue to take lead in both Mobile Payment and Mobile Security Platform innovations with Samsung Pay and Samsung KNOX. Another key area of focus is Mobile Health.

As such, we will relentlessly pursue the technological innovations that will help enrich people’s lives.

Roh joined Samsung Electronics in 1997 and has since played an instrumental role in the hardware R&D development of numerous Samsung products, most notably the Galaxy device line-ups. Prior to being named Co-Head of Samsung’s Mobile R&D Office and Product Strategy Team in December 2015, Roh spearheaded the development of advanced smartphones and tablets as the Head of the Innovative R&D Team. He also played a key role in the strategic product planning, launching and marketing efforts of the Galaxy S6 and Note 5.

Samsung Electronics, the world’s leading producer of semiconductor and display solutions, formally opened the doors to its new Device Solutions America headquarters here, setting the stage for a new wave of innovation across the digital landscape.

Located on the same corner in San Jose’s tech corridor where Samsung’s original campus was first built more than 30 years ago, the new headquarters symbolizes both Samsung’s long heritage in Silicon Valley and the company’s focus on innovation and growth.

Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor operations has long been at the forefront of innovation and with the new America headquarters for its components business, Samsung’s R&D efforts will be bolstered substantially. Innovation and advanced technologies for next-generation devices generated at the new facility will help make an even greater contribution to providing the critical competitive advantage that the company’s U.S. and global customers seek.

Speaking before an audience of more than 800 at the site’s Grand Opening ceremony, Oh-Hyun Kwon, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics, said “We are transforming Samsung into a world-class example of a truly market-focused technology company.” He further said that the company is “ laying the groundwork for a more aggressive pace of growth over the next several decades.”

While Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions Division has experienced explosive growth since its arrival in Silicon Valley in 1983, it has created multiple organizations dispersed throughout the region. The move brings more than 700 employees together in one location, enhancing efficiency that is crucial in creating technologies and products at the cutting edge of technology. The 1.1-million-square-foot building will house various research labs dedicated to semiconductors, LEDs and displays, as well as staff in sales, marketing and other support areas.

Complete with gardens and open air space within the building, its new design increases collaboration by encouraging more spontaneous encounters between staff, while also bringing nature closer to the workplace to increase employees’ contentment and creativity.

Samsung’s President of its Device Solutions America operations, Jaesoo Han, said, “Today represents a major milestone as we open our most strategically important Samsung facility in the U.S. and also our biggest investment in Silicon Valley.” He went on to say that “Samsung’s goal is nothing less than to develop the best next-generation technologies for device solutions.”

Dignitaries in attendance at the grand opening for Samsung’s new headquarters included the current mayor of San Jose—the Honorable Sam Liccardo, former San Jose mayor—the Honorable Chuck Reed, State Senator Bob Wieckowski, San Jose State University President Susan Martin, and San Francisco Korean Consul General Dongman Han.

In keeping with the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, Samsung announced a number of contributions at the event that will further support the Silicon Valley community. The company donated $100,000 to the Family Giving Tree and another $100,000 to the Second Harvest Food Bank.

Samsung Electronics has also established a $1 million STEM College Education Scholarship Fund to celebrate its latest expansion. Deserving university students who are currently enrolled in STEM-focused programs at a California State or University of California school will benefit from this program, beginning with a $50,000 gift to San Jose State University this year. Each scholarship will cover tuition and living expenses for one year.

Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions CSR programs are focused on enhancing health, education and sustainability opportunities for children. In addition to opening its new state-of-the-art facility in San Jose, Samsung is dedicated to supporting the local community and helping to inspire the next generation of innovators with volunteer staff support and corporate donations.

For more information, visit www.samsung.com/us/samsungGOC15.