Samsung looking to buy AI companies; prepares $1 billion budget

Bixby, Samsung's upcoming AI assistant, seems to be a feature that clearly demonstrates the company's intentions to catch up to the competition in that particular field. However, the latest information from South Korea suggests that the tech giant might harbor even greater ambitions.

Citing an unnamed Samsung Electronics US official, local media outlet Chosun Biz has reported that the Seoul-based manufacturer is looking to acquire companies that work in the field of AI. For this endeavor, Samsung will supposedly allocate a whopping $1 billion.

In 2016, Samsung acquired 10 tech businesses, including the purchase of Viv Labs, a company that was conceived by some of the creators of Siri. Another notable addition is the cosmic $8 billion buyout of car infotainment enterprise Harman International. Despite these acquisitions, Samsung's management has determined that more investments need to be made in the field of artificial intelligence.

It remains to be seen if Samsung will eventually manage to pull ahead and become a leader in mobile software. Chosun Biz reminds us that the corporation missed out the opportunity to buy the Android OS before Google in 2005, which could have made it the most influential player on the market.

via SamMobile