Samsung Electronics plans to open a new artificial intelligence (AI) center in New York City, a move that will increase the number of the company’s AI hubs across the world. Daniel D. Lee, Executive Vice President of Samsung Research with a professional background in AI robotics, has been appointed to oversee the new AI center, which will be located in Chelsea. Lee said in a statement that the new facility will focus on research efforts around robotics technology, adding that the company will leverage the talent in the area as part of that push along with universities and academic centers. Lee will be assisted by H. Sebastian Seung, Executive Vice President of Samsung Research.
Situated at 123 West 18th St, New York City, the AI center was formally introduced to nearly a hundred guests late last week during an opening ceremony, attended by top Samsung executives such as President Kinam Kim; Seunghwan Cho, Executive Vice President of Samsung Research; and Geunbae Lee, Head of Samsung AI Center in Seoul. The New York AI center marks the company’s sixth such research facility around the world. Earlier this year, Samsung announced the opening of an AI laboratory located in Cambridge in the United Kingdom, with Andrew Blake, a former director of the Cambridge laboratory of the software giant Microsoft, heading the new research hub. In late May, Samsung Research America also opened a lab in Toronto, Canada, as part of its efforts to drive the company’s research and development efforts in machine learning and other AI fields. Samsung also has AI research hubs in South Korea, Russia, and Silicon Valley. The New York AI center will work in collaboration with other Samsung AI research centers across the world.
Hyun-suk Kim, President and Head of Samsung Research, Samsung’s advanced R&D arm under the device business, said the company’s “global AI centers, including the New York AI Center, must play a pivotal role” in order to “focus on creating new values that make people’s lives easier and more convenient.” In addition to the new and existing AI research facilities set up by the South Korean tech giant across the world, Samsung also seeks to grow its advanced AI research capabilities with the goal of employing nearly 1,000 AI specialists by 2020.