Gumi to become robot hub following Samsung's 19 trillion won investment

Gumi, South Korea, is undergoing a major industrial transformation following a 19 trillion won investment plan by Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDS. The initiative aims to establish the city as a global hub for humanoid robots and physical AI through the creation of a specialized manufacturing ecosystem.

Key components of the project include the construction of a humanoid robot 'mother factory' for standardized mass production and a 'robot data factory' to collect real-time manufacturing data. To support these operations, Samsung SDS plans to build a hyperscale AI data center with a capacity of up to 60MW, which will serve as the computational brain for optimizing AI algorithms used in local robotics.

To ensure regional economic benefits, Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gumi have launched a joint task force to integrate local small and medium-sized enterprises into the Samsung robot supply chain. The provincial strategy involves investing approximately 486.2 billion won over five years to develop Gumi as a supply chain and mass production hub, while positioning Pohang as a center for R&D and testing. The plan also includes training 3,000 specialized professionals and transitioning 150 existing manufacturing companies toward robot-integrated AI factories.