Rainbow Robotics, a South Korean robot developer, will get an investment of 59 billion won (about $46.2 million) from Samsung Electronics Co., a move that would assist expand the capability of the tech giant in the artificial intelligence (AI) and humanoid robot sectors.
A South Korean robotics startup is apparently the recipient of an investment from Samsung Elec amounting to millions of dollars. According to Korea Economic Daily, Samsung Electronics will invest 59 billion won (about $46.4 million) in Rainbow Robotics as the company continues to look for potential development engines within the industry.
Rainbow Robotics made the announcement on January 3 that it has made the decision to sell 1.94 million new shares to Samsung at a price of 30,400 won per share. These new shares will be listed on January 20. As a result of this agreement, Samsung will be able to own a significant 10.3% holding in the company that manufactures robotic technology.
Rainbow’s share price increased by 27.45% to close at 41,550 won shortly after the news, which significantly outperformed the 0.51% gain that was seen in the tech-heavy Kosdaq index of the country. Rainbow is the first publicly traded robot company to receive an investment from Samsung as a result of this deal.
Aside from this, the massive South Korean technology company has been putting the majority of its investment money into semiconductor-related businesses including Wonik IPS Co., Dongjin Semichem Co., and Soulbrain Co. Notably, Samsung began investing in its robotics business in the year 2020 since the corporation recognized the importance of the industry to the future of the company.
According to the Export-Import Bank of Korea, it is anticipated that the global robot industry will expand at an annual average growth rate of 20 percent, taking it from $25 billion in 2020 to $160 billion in 2030.
Meanwhile, LG Electronics, Inc. built a robot production facility at its A1 factory in Gumi, which is located in the North Gyeongsang Province. In December of last year, the company began producing LG CLOi robots at this site. Additionally, the American company Tesla Inc. has the objective of creating humanoid robots that are loaded with AI.