Samsung to expand in robotics, medtech; eyes sizeable M&As

Samsung Electronics Co. will accelerate its push into robotics, medical technology and next-generation semiconductor markets to secure new growth drivers, for which it is pursuing "meaningful" M&As, its Chief Executive Han Jong-hee said on Wednesday.

In opening remarks at its annual general meeting, Han apologized for falling behind in the AI chip race and underperforming in the home appliance sectors.

"We will continue to take on new challenges in various fields, including robotics, medtech and next-generation semiconductors," Han said at the gathering attended by about 800 shareholders, up from 600 last year.

He did not provide details about its strategy for the new business areas.

His remarks came after Samsung became the largest shareholder of Rainbow Robotics Co., a domestic collaborative robot maker, with a 35% stake. 

However, the South Korean tech giant has not pulled off sizeable acquisitions over the past few years.

"We are fully aware that M&As are crucial for securing new growth engines," said Han, in response to a shareholder's question about the absence of large-scale M&A deals.

"This year, we will actively pursue more meaningful M&A opportunities and do our best to deliver tangible results," he added.

At the shareholder meeting, Samsung's top management faced criticism over its stagnant share price, especially in comparison with local rival SK Hynix Inc., a pioneer in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) AI chip market. 

"Last year, we failed to respond effectively to the evolving AI semiconductor market, and did not achieve overwhelming market competitiveness in key products such as smartphones, TVs and home appliances,” said Han, who chaired the meeting.

In 2024, the company delivered worse-than-expected results on the back of the steady DRAM price declines, HBM chip supply delays, a slowdown in demand for enterprise solid state drives (eSSDs) and increased losses in its foundry business.

“In HBM4 and customized HBM markets, we’ll ensure that our missteps with HBM3 last year will not be repeated,” Jun Young-hyun, vice chairman and head of Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions (DS) division, told shareholders.

Jun noted that it will produce 12-layer HBM3E chips as early as the second quarter, or by the second half at the latest.

WIDENING GAP

SK Hynix is further widening its gap with Samsung. On Wednesday, SK Hynix said it has delivered the first samples of 12-layer HBM4, the world’s most advanced AI chip and the sixth generation of HBM, to its customers for quality evaluation six months earlier than its original timeline.

Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, has warned that the company has lost its characteristic "relentless" Samsung Spirit, calling on senior executives to overcome the current crisis with a "do-or-die" attitude in a message shared during the group's recent executive seminars.

Its share price has advanced 9.55% to 58,500 won year to date, lagging behind SK Hynix, which has gained 20.04% to 205,500 won over the same period.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com
 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.