Samsung R&D Institute Bangalore Forays into its First Deep-Tech Start-up Showcase for R&D Teams

In January, Samsung R&D Institute India – Bangalore (SRI-B) organized ‘The Startup Collab: #FuelingDeepTech’, where 11 startups, working in the field of Generative AI, Responsible AI, Emotion AI, Visual AI, Quantum and Health, participated with great enthusiasm. The startups pitched their unique product offerings and showcased interactive live demos to a large audience consisting of SRI-B’s R&D teams, leaving them highly motivated and mesmerized.

Employees seized this opportunity to understand the startup offerings and explore potential areas of collaboration with them to influence Samsung’s products and services.

The daylong event featured a leadership address, startup pitches, an interactive demo showcase, and Samsung expert talks.

Mohan Rao, CVP & CTO at SRI-B, addressed a packed audience on how Samsung aligns its efforts with ecosystem partners. During the talk, Mohan Rao emphasized the company’s ‘build vs source’ philosophy and how we endeavor to bring about win-win collaboration opportunities.

“At Samsung, we are deeply committed to open innovation and ecosystem collaboration. Collaboration with startups is a symbiotic relationship where startups bring fresh ideas and agility, while Samsung can offer scale and stability. This also infuses the startup’s entrepreneurial spirit within the organization, fostering a culture of risk-taking and innovation. We look forward to collaborating with promising deep-tech startups and creating ground-breaking innovations”, he shared.

The Open Innovation team, operating under the aegis of the CTO Office, collaborates with both R&D teams and the startup ecosystem to identify and align potential collaboration opportunities. As part of their core responsibilities, this team facilitates incubation, partnerships and potential investments into aligned startups. So far, the team has successfully established 30+ partnerships and made around 12 strategic investments.

Traditionally, discussions around R&D, especially in the early exploration phase, have been limited to product owners, technology leaders, and key decision-makers. However, the Startup Collab: #FuelingDeepTech aims to create a platform that opens up startups to a broader audience within SRI-B. This approach enables the identification of high-impact, innovative, and potentially unexpected use cases across various ABC products, fostering collaboration and driving cutting-edge solutions.

“Open Innovation at SRI-B is at the heart of our New Valley Vision. We strongly believe and encourage building Samsung products and services utilizing the power of our partners and the vibrant startup ecosystem”, shared Dr. Balvinder Singh, Head of the Advanced Research Group & Open Innovation at SRI-B.

The open format of the event allows Samsung and the startups to explore beyond the boundaries of traditional meeting setups, and enables R&D teams to combine the offerings of multiple startups with Samsung products, creating novel concepts and immersive consumer experiences. This unique approach will lead to many fruitful collaborations in the future, ultimately delivering non-linear value to Samsung users.