Samsung R&D Institute India, Bangalore (SRI‑B), the company’s largest software R&D hub outside Korea, has once again dominated the Zinnov Awards, taking home four top honours at this year’s Confluence.

Three individuals from SRI-B were recognized for their exceptional track record as technologists and mentors. Roopa Sheshadri was honoured as one of the Next Generation Women Leaders for her contributions in mentoring and technological leadership. Dr. Raja Sekhara Reddy D. M. and Dr. Srinivas Soumitri Miriyala were chosen as Technical Role Models, marking SRI‑B’s continued excellence in nurturing technical leadership. This is the 11th year of SRI-B winning multiple awards at Zinnov Confluence, setting new industry standards.

At an organizational level, SRI-B was declared the sole winner of the “Great Place to Innovate” award, a recognition of its sharp innovation culture, a robust patent portfolio crossing 11,000 filings, and a thriving intrapreneurial ecosystem that fuels next-gen solutions.

These recent SRI-B accolades reflect a deliberate R&D strategy, led by strong leadership and unique innovation culture.

Zinnov Confluence 2025, the flagship industry forum centered on the theme “Limitless Leadership in the Age of AI”, brought together visionaries from across the globe to spotlight engineering excellence and industry-defining ideas. SRI-B stood tall among peers, further anchoring its legacy of impact-driven innovation.

“Our multiple wins at Zinnov Confluence reinforce our position as a global innovation engine, driving breakthroughs that matter. Every year in the last decade, we have been recognized for our unwavering commitment to the technology ecosystem. In this high-speed world of technology, SRI-B has always pioneered industry-first innovations that create a true real impact. We are happy and proud that our contributions are recognized consistently,” said Mohan Rao Goli, CVP and Managing Director, SRI-B.

SRI-B focuses on technologies around Communication Protocols, Multimedia (including Camera Solutions), AD Tech, Data Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence and IoT. The center has built end-to-end expertise in COEs through product management and UX Design thinking. The R&D center’s key focus is to create global product differentiation and solutions for the Indian market by identifying unique insights and deliver value to consumers.

In the 29 years since its foundation, SRI-B has developed several products and solutions for both the national and global market, with several ‘world’s firsts’ conceptualized and developed out of this R&D center. The company is also recognized as India’s #1 patent filer, with the highest number of patents in the country filed out of this R&D center.

Built on the belief that technology is a tool for transformation, SIC provides training in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Coding & Programming, and essential soft skills. But beyond the curriculum lies the real impact: confidence, curiosity, and courage.

That impact was on full display recently at two major national hackathons, where students trained under SIC by Samsung R&D Institute Bangalore (SRI-B) emerged as clear standouts—winning accolades, solving real-world problems, and proving that talent, when nurtured, can shine on any stage.

Winners at HackToFuture 3.0

Conquering Code at HackToFuture 3.0

At HackToFuture 3.0, hosted by St. Joseph Engineering College, over 700 teams from 300+ colleges across 21 states competed in a grueling 36-hour coding marathon. Participants came from premier institutes like NITs and IIITs, raising the competitive bar. But when the final leaderboard was revealed, the story belonged to SIC—75% of the winning and runner-up teams were trained through its programmes.

Dynamic Hackathon: From the Classroom to the Factory Floor

The momentum didn’t stop there. At the Dynamic Hackathon, organized by Dynamic Crane Engineers Pvt. Ltd. and i4C, students were challenged to solve real industrial problems through technology. Out of 550+ participating teams, only 18 reached the finals. The ultimate winners? A team of six—Integrated Innovators BLR—with five members hailing from the SIC.

Learning That Goes Beyond the Lab

What’s driving this success? According to the students, it’s not just about mastering code—it’s about learning how to think.

“The sessions were structured in a way that bridged theory with real-world application,” said Vaishnavi, from Team Code Brigade. “It wasn’t just about syntax—it was about strategy.”

That blend of technical knowledge and critical thinking was a recurring theme across the hackathon teams.

“The IoT course at SIC changed how I approached problems,” said Mahendra of Integrated Innovators BLR. “I began to see the connection between hardware and software, and how they come together to solve real issues.”

Mahanthesh, another winner, credited SIC with transforming classroom concepts into real-world readiness. “We weren’t just prepared for a test—we were prepared for the tech industry,” he said.

Winners at Dynamic Hackathon

Training Future Innovators, Not Just Employees

SIC’s emphasis on collaboration, adaptability, and innovation helped students not just compete—but thrive—under pressure.

“We knew how to break problems down, assign roles, and stay calm,” said Mohammed Yusuf, a finalist. “That made all the difference during the hackathon.”

For others, SIC became a platform for leadership.

“The design thinking and prototyping lessons helped us take bold decisions confidently,” noted Kishan.

“Winning one hackathon was exciting—but applying that learning to win another showed us we were building something bigger,” added Kirana GV, who competed and won in both events.

A Growing Network of Talent

Since its inception, SIC under SRI-B has partnered with leading institutions such as:

· BNM Institute of Technology

· Cambridge Institute of Technology (Main & North Campuses)

· RNS Institute of Technology

· KLE Institute of Technology

· GSSS Institute for Women, Mysuru

· IIIT-Kurnool

Over 1100 students have been trained through the initiative across Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Building the Future, One Line of Code at a Time

As India’s digital economy surges ahead, the demand for skilled, industry-ready talent is higher than ever. Programmes like SIC are meeting that need—not with routine instruction, but with inspiration.

And when young coders are empowered with the right tools and mindset, they don’t just build apps—they build the future.

The 15th edition of the Zinnov Awards focussed on recognizing and celebrating visionaries and change makers, shining the spotlight on the Titans in Tech – the India GCCs and individual role models who have created an impact on a global scale. SRI-B has been winning the Zinnov Awards continuously for a decade now, setting new industry standards.

SRI-B won the Technical Role Model award

This year, SRI-B won the Technical Role Model award, an individual contributor award in the established category, recognizing technology stalwart and SRI-B’s Chief Technology Officer, Mohan Rao Goli, for creating a significant impact by leading the team that worked on the world’s first mmWave (5G) mobile phone launch and the design revamp of 4G components, such as Modem software, Call software, Management software and Operator Administration Management software, to optimize the network.

Over the last 3 years, under Mohan’s guidance, SRI-B developed the world’s 1^st combined 4G/5G VRAN, the world’s 1^st low light camera solution – Nightography, the world’s 1^st  inter-operable single radio chip solution for Zigbee & Matter Thread communications in IoT, and the world’s 1^st and best On-device AI engine with highest performance.

“This recognition goes to show how dedicated SRI-B has been in making a global impact over the last decade. I am elated to represent this extraordinary company, making strides in innovation, especially in the areas of Advanced Wireless Communication, Internet of things, Camera and Artificial Intelligence Services.”

“I am proud and sincerely thankful to my leaders and the teams I’ve led along the way, for their enduring and perceptive efforts to bring SRI-B where it is today. However, this is just the beginning. SRI-B will continue to strive not just for excellence, but also to push the boundaries of research and inspire the future with our innovation”, said Mohan Rao Goli, Chief Technology Officer, SRI-B.

SRI-B has also won the Technical Role Model award in AI&BDA in the senior level category

SRI-B has also won the Technical Role Model award in AI&BDA in the senior level category, awarded to Dr. Lokesh Rayasandra Boregowda, Senior Director, SRI-B.

SRI-B focuses on technologies around Communication Protocols, Multimedia (including Camera Solutions), AD Tech, Data Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence and IoT. The center has built end-to-end expertise in COEs through product management and UX Design thinking.  The R&D center’s key focus is to create global product differentiation and solutions for the Indian market by identifying unique insights and deliver value to consumers.

In the 28 years since its foundation, SRI-B has developed several products and solutions for both the national and global market, with several ‘world’s firsts’ conceptualized and developed out of this R&D center. The company is also recognized as India’s #1 patent filer, with the highest number of patents in the country filed out of this R&D center.

SmartThings team from SRI-B receiving the ‘Breakthrough Business Ideas’

The Vanguard Awards recognizes rewards and motivates intrapreneurial effort with the strong belief that celebrating, and championing role models will inspire more organizations and leaders to tread this path. The Vanguard Awards is a pioneering, one of its kind, cross industry recognition program focused on Intrapreneurship in multiple forms. The 2023 edition saw more than 50 companies participate and vie for the top honours.

The Intrapreneurial Practice Award conferred to SRI-B for fostering a culture of Intrapreneurial leadership and end-to-end innovation. The IP & Innovation Group under the Chief Technology Officer champions the Intrapreneurship Program. The key pillars of the Intrapreneurship Program are Creative Lab (C-Lab) – Idea to Product, Breakthrough Innovation & Advanced Development Project Creation & Open Innovation – Partnering with Local Ecosystem Start-ups.

Syam Sidhardhan from SmartThings Team at SRI-B developed the World’s first One chip solution for Smart devices with Matter Thread & ZigBee certification. ZigBee & Matter Thread One Chip is a First of its kind innovative firmware plus software solution, which leverages a single radio chip to support multiple communication technologies such as ZigBee and Matter Thread protocol communication together in a multiplexing manner. This solution made Samsung’s smart home devices easily connectable with both legacy and modern smart home appliances seamlessly, without customer having to buy newer devices for compatibility with Matter Thread.

SRI-B receiving the ‘Intrapreneurial Practice Award’

In the 27 years since its foundation, SRI-B has developed several products and solutions for both the national and global market, with several ‘world’s firsts’ conceptualized and developed out of this R&D center.

Taking the Intrapreneurial culture forward, Praveen George, a senior product manager at SRI-B is credited with solving one of the main customer pain points in India – financing for electronic appliances. Samsung Finance+ was born out of the idea of a digital lending platform having tie-ups with multiple NBFCs to provide loans for Samsung customers looking to purchase Samsung products from offline stores. Today this digital lending platform, Samsung Finance+ is present in 70,000 plus stores in India and helped more than 7 million customers to purchase Samsung products with financing. Praveen was conferred with the Star Intrapreneur Award for his contribution.

“Over the last two decades, SRI-B has strived for building an intrapreneurial spirit within employees, allowing them to envision the future, think creatively, and transform ideas into value innovation. This award is a recognition of our focus on product development, advanced research and IP creation for software solutions. The award also recognizes all our innovators who have been creating intellectual property and contributing to the culture of intrapreneurship in the organization,” said Mohan Rao Goli, Chief Technology Officer, SRI-B.

Mohan Rao Goli, CTO, SRIB along with other panellists

SRI-B focuses on product development related to Device eXperience business of Samsung. Over the years, SRI-B has set up Centre of Excellences in Wireless Communication, Multimedia Technology, On-Device AI, Voice Interface and IoT.

The centre has built end-to-end expertise in COEs through product management and UX Design thinking. The R&D centre’s key focus is to create global product differentiation and solutions for the Indian market by identifying unique insights and deliver value to consumers.

Samsung R&D Institute Bangalore (SRI-B), the Company’s largest R&D centre outside Korea, has won the ‘Best in Class Center of Excellence’ and ‘Technical Role Model’ Awards at the recently held Zinnov Awards 2022.

To recognize and celebrate visionaries and change makers, the 13th edition of Zinnov Awards focussed on honoring the Titans in Tech – the India centers and individual role models who have created an impact on a global scale.

The Best in Class Center of Excellence award is1 a company-wide award that recognizes those India centers that are leading the way in driving innovation and research in specific technologies/processes, while facilitating collaboration across various business units. The assessment was done across two areas – Technology COE and Process/Functional COE.

SRI-B has also won the individual contributor award, Technical Role Model award, recognizing technology stalwart Dr. Pinaki Bhaskar for creating a significant impact in the technologies of Artificial Intelligence/Big Data Analytics, Intelligent Automation and co-authoring over 30 research publications.

 “Over the last decade, we have built a strong culture of open innovation alongside our in-house innovation. This award is a recognition for all of us who have been pushing the envelope for research-to-market framework with end-to-end thinking. The award also recognizes all our innovators who have been creating intellectual property and contributing to the culture of intrapreneurship in the organization”, said Dipesh Shah, EVP and Managing Director, Samsung R&D Institute Bangalore.

In the last few years, the R&D centre has established more than twenty research collaborations with universities/research institutes in India and overseas, working in areas of Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Wireless Networks and Multimedia, which are its centres of excellence.

 “SRI-B has focused on product development, advanced research and IP creation for software solutions and platforms over the last twenty-five years. Our COEs are acting as catalysts for cutting-edge research and innovation in relevant areas, creating the Product Differentiation across the Samsung Portfolio of Products,” said Mohan Rao Goli, Chief Technology Officer, SRI-B.

In the 25 years since its foundation, SRI-B has developed several products and solutions for both the national and global market, with several ‘world’s firsts’ conceptualized and developed out of this R&D center.

SRI-B focuses on technologies around Communication Protocols, Multimedia (including Camera Solutions), AD Tech, Data Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence and IoT. The centre has built end-to-end expertise in COEs through product management and UX Design thinking.  The R&D centre’s key focus is to create global product differentiation and solutions for the Indian market by identifying unique insights and deliver value to consumers.

26 year-old Pavithra Vancheeswaran is over joyed. Not only has she completed her M. Tech from the Indian Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B) but has also won the prestigious ‘Sir M. Visvesvaraya Scholarship Award’ for scoring the highest CGPA across all courses. This is no small feat considering Pavithra is a full-time employee of Samsung R&D Institute India, Bangalore (SRI-B), Samsung’s biggest research centre outside Korea and the M. Tech course was done alongside pressures of work.

She, and another colleague Yogesh Kochar, who also won the award, competed against 163 M. Tech. students, most of them doing the course full-time.

Pavithra and Yogesh are part of a group of 28 engineers from SRI-B who have completed their M. Tech. degrees from IIIT-B as part of the R&D centre’s continuous learning initiative, helping upskill its employees.

“Balancing work, studies and other commitments is a tight rope to walk, and I wouldn’t have been able to do this without support from my team and my family,” says Pavithra, who joined Samsung in 2016 as a campus fresher and is now part of the Internet of Things team.

SRI-B employs thousands of young engineers who work on cutting edge technology in diverse areas such as AI, machine learning, IoT, natural language processing, biometrics and camera tech.

Many engineers at SRI-B, like Pavithra, are straight out of engineering college and to help them with an upward learning curve, SRI-B has tied up with IIIT-B for an M. Tech. program for employees with specialisation in Computer Science in 2014. Since then, 172 employees have completed the program.

Employees have to go through a rigorous entrance examination and an internal selection process to get a seat in the coveted M.Tech. program.

Yogesh Kochar from the Network team says the last three years have been a challenge for him but this program has added tremendous value to him as a professional. “Going back to academics has given me a fresh perspective and helped me take my work to the next level. I can already feel the difference,” he says.

Professors from IIIT-B conduct classes for the program at the SRI-B office in Bengaluru. Over the last year and half, though, these classes have shifted online.

“At Samsung India, we strongly believe in continuous learning. We nurture the talent of our people and enhance their research acumen. The collaboration with premier institutes such as IISC, IIT-M and IIIT-B were initiated to upskill our engineers on deep technology domains,” says Dr. Aloknath De, Vice President & CTO , SRI-B.

“It is fascinating to see our veterans and young millennials study together while working full time. Over the last few years, we have seen an upward slope in the learning curve, which is also reflected in the higher number of research publications and patents filings” he adds.

SRI-B has witnessed a four times increase in patent filing over the last four years, especially in areas such as 5G, AI and IoT.

Starting this year, SRI-B has collaborated with two premiere Indian institutes –Indian Institute of Technology – Madras (IIT-M) – for part-time and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for full time nonresidential course. SRI-B plans to sponsor higher education for 30 employees with IISc in 2021. The M. Tech programs will focus on specialization in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Business Analytics, ECE and Signal Processing.

SRI-B, Samsung’s largest R&D facility outside Korea, was set up in 1996. Over the years, it has grown into an advanced R&D centre for Samsung globally, with excellence in wireless communications, multimedia and image processing, artificial intelligence in vision, voice and text technologies and Internet of Things (IoT).

Over the next five years, SRI-B to explore Multi-Device Intelligence, beyond 5G, Blockchain and Data Science areas even as it continues to create strong differentiation for Samsung through innovations in camera technologies, artificial intelligence and 5G.

SRI-B, which has created a strong culture of filing patents among its engineers over the last decade, will also expand Open Innovation with startups, students and universities to help strengthen the innovation and startup ecosystem in the country.

It will drive this effort by scaling up its industry-academia program PRISM under which it has been working with engineering students and faculty on real-world research and development projects in cutting edge technology areas. So far it has worked with close to 500 students in the country and some of these students have gone on to file patents along with Samsung engineers.

SRI-B engineers have filed over 3,200 patents so far and over the last three years there has been a 4X increase in the number of patents being filed annually. In this period, there has been an increase in Gen Z and Millennial engineers at SRI-B filing patents and around 80% of the patent creators were engineers who filed patents for the first time in their careers.

“It has been an incredible journey since 1996 as SRI-B has been Samsung’s pillar of strength. As we complete yet another milestone, we will focus on breakthrough innovations with our refreshed R&D strategy that will lead to shaping of new global lifestyles inspired from India. We will grow sustainably as we will do our part to uplift the skill base of students especially in the Karnataka region through our unique CSR programs,” said Dipesh Shah, Managing Director, SRI-B.

“Our biggest strength is our people and as we move ahead we will continue to focus on building up the skills of our in-house talent in cutting edge research and development areas and also empower thousands of students enrolled in our industry-academia initiative Samsung PRISM, as part of Samsung’s vision of Powering Digital India,” he said.

Focus on Next Gen Technologies

Going forward, the R&D centre will explore Multi-Device Intelligence, beyond 5G, Blockchain and Data Science areas while on the digital infrastructure side, Virtualization and Containerization will be the key technology focus areas. SRI-B will also focus on intensifying community building programs with services like Samsung Find that enables users to help each other in tracing devices.

Since it’s set up in 1996, SRI-B has worked on many cutting edge technologies and has had many firsts – 3G networks, the world’s first 4G, 5G networks, voice over LTE – and engineers at the centre have made significant contributions to Samsung Galaxy smartphones and Samsung networks.

Local India-Specific Innovations

SRI-B has been at the centre of developing local India-specific innovations, which has created a differentiation for Samsung smartphones in the Indian market, and these innovations have been loved by consumers.

SRI-B conducts consumer research every year to understand the growing needs of consumers in India, based on which engineers develop innovations that become part of smartphone products for the country. A recent innovation that the centre developed is an On Device Search engine that helps people find their pictures and other content on the smartphones easily using natural language search.

Open Innovation & Building a Strong Patents Culture

SRI-B will scale up the Samsung PRISM program to add more colleges from across the country, to help stimulate the Indian innovation ecosystem, and build capabilities among students that meet industry needs.

These students get to work on projects in cutting edge technology areas such as Artificial Intelligence (including vision tech), Machine Learning, Internet of Things & Connected Devices and 5G networks, to solve real world problems. Each project is taken up by a team of three students and one professor, with a mentor from SRI-B who will guide and train them, and conduct regular reviews. Students are encouraged to publish papers and file patents jointly with SRI-B.