Samsung Electronics has acquired additional shares in Rainbow Robotics, a local Korean robotics company specializing in humanoid robots. According to a regulatory filing, CEO Oh Jun-ho and other interest groups sold their combined 4.8% stake in Rainbow Robotics to Samsung for KRW 27.8 billion ($21.2 million).
This follows Samsung’s purchase of a 10.22% stake in January, bringing its total ownership to 14.99% and making it the second-largest shareholder in Rainbow Robotics. As a result of this acquisition, Samsung now has the right to appoint one board member and secured call option rights to buy 855,439 Rainbow Robotics shares over the next six years.
Rainbow Robotics was founded in 2011 by a research team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Humanoid Robot Research Center. It made its stock debut on the tech-heavy Kosdaq in February 2021. The latest investment is expected to give Samsung a stronger presence in the burgeoning robotics market, which the company has identified as a key growth driver.
During Samsung’s annual shareholder’s meeting in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, co-CEO Han Jong-hee said that the company will “take preemptive measures to prepare for the era of robots that would fully unfold in the future,” and “bolster core technologies necessary for various types of robots and develop more products that can offer convenience to the customers.”
Industry experts speculate that the additional stock purchase may indicate Samsung’s intention to acquire Rainbow Robotics in the future, depending on the output of their technological collaboration. The company has not yet launched any advanced robot products, but it has prototypes of housekeeping and service robots as well as wearable robots to assist people with mobility disabilities.
Since Chairman Lee Jae-Yong announced Samsung’s plan to invest KRW 230 trillion in futuristic technologies, including robotics, the company’s robotics task force was elevated to an official team under the company’s device experience business division.