Boston emerges as Korean firms’ R&D hub for AI, batteries

Top South Korean conglomerates Samsung and Hyundai have selected Boston as the home of their first overseas research centers for batteries and artificial intelligence (AI) to take advantage of the research infrastructure and top talent available there. 

Samsung SDI Co., an electric vehicle battery maker, established its first US-based R&D center in Boston, Massachusetts, on Monday, about a month after opening a research center in Munich, Germany.

Its Boston-based research center, dubbed SDI R&D America (SDIRA), will conduct joint research with top universities, other research centers and startups in the area, Samsung said in a statement.

The location would also pave the way to build up its R&D infrastructure and recruit top global talent.

The announcement comes shortly after Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group unveiled a plan to set up an AI research center in the Boston area to develop AI-driven robotics technologies. 

With manufacturers shifting their focus to software technology such as AI and autonomous driving, Korean manufacturers are setting up overseas R&D hubs in areas with good access to advanced research centers and top talent.

To attract the most talented employees, they are trying to adopt a flexible and creative work environment, shedding their decades-long rigid corporate culture.

Next year, Samsung SDI also plans to establish a research center in China as part of its efforts to develop next-generation battery technologies tailored to regional demand.

The site would become its third overseas research center. China boasts the world’s largest number of battery-related colleges, research institutes and companies.

Last year, Samsung SDI spent 877.6 billion won ($670 million) on R&D expenditures, its largest-ever R&D spending.

Write to Il-Gyu Kim at black0419@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article