LG Elec looks to pluck AI talent from Amazon, Microsoft

LG Electronics Inc.’s artificial intelligence head Lee Hyun-chul flew to Seattle this week to lure AI talent from Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com, headquartered in the seaport city, as competition for hiring AI talent becomes fierce.

Lee, a former director of engineering at Amazon, moved to LG Electronics as chief technology officer (CTO) at the end of last year.

On July 18, the world’s largest appliances maker will hold a conference in Seattle for Korean AI professionals based in northwestern US, according to people with knowledge of the matter on Friday

During the event, Lee will share LG’s vision of AI, current business conditions and research plans. The CTO will also moderate a panel discussion on new technology development such as machine learning and natural language processing for interaction between computers and human language.

The conference is being prepared for a Korean social club with about 800 members, comprised mainly of IT professionals working for Amazon, Microsoft and other global companies.

The members of the club, named Originality and Invention, have held conferences and seminars on a regular basis to share their information and knowledge. About 100 AI and big data experts are slated to participate in the Saturday gathering. 

“AI is the common denominator for a variety of sectors that have substantial influence on products and technological competitiveness,” said an LG Electronics official.

“A company’s competitiveness is highly dependent on how much AI talent it has secured.”

Adding to the competition for hiring AI talent, home appliance makers are launching high-end, AI-enabled products with improved connectivity as if they are a single electronics appliance.

Such premium products powered by AI and the internet of things are driving growth in the home appliances market.

In the first quarter of this year, LG Electronics widened its lead over Whirlpool Corp. with $1 billion more in sales than the US behemoth thanks to brisk sales of its premium brand.

NURTURING TALENT

In addition to hiring IT experts, LG will also nurture its AI talent in cooperation with academia. From the second half of this year, the company will operate an AI department within the college of computing at Yonsei University.

The department will cover software research and development such as machine learning, big data, cloud computing, robotics and system software. Each student in the master’s program will be guaranteed a job by LG.

In Canada, which is emerging as an AI hub, LG Electronics is carrying out joint research on AI learning with the Université de Montréal and big data analytics projects jointly with the University of Waterloo.

The electronics company has also formed a consortium with the University of Toronto to develop AI technology that more accurately recognizes objects.

Meanwhile, LG Corp., the holding company of LG Group, set up its first overseas base for artificial intelligence research in Michigan early this year.

LG AI Research plans to actively recruit AI talent in North America to develop next-generation AI technology at the US center.

Write to Ji-Eun Jeong at jeong@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.