Samsung creates RX robotics division to accelerate robot development

Samsung Electronics has launched a new Robotics eXperience (RX) Business Promotion Office that reports directly to CEO TM Roh. The unit brings together previously scattered robot teams and will be led by Lee Dong‑kun, a former Hyundai executive who oversaw the Boston Dynamics strategy. Headquartered at Samsung’s R&D campus in Umyeon‑dong, Seoul, the division will also open research centres in the United States, China and Japan.

RX will first focus on industrial robots for Samsung’s own factories, using a “data factory” at the Gumi plant to collect manufacturing data for AI‑driven automation. Samsung has earmarked roughly 60 trillion won for regional projects, including 19 trillion won for the Gumi site, and plans to turn all its factories into AI‑autonomous plants by 2030. The company increased its stake in Korean robot maker Rainbow Robotics to about 35%, a move that helped shares rise more than 5 percent after the announcement. The division will later expand into humanoid robots and a B2B‑to‑B2C rollout, aiming to make robotics a core growth engine for the group.