Samsung Electronics is increasing its investment in the robot manufacturing company Rainbow Robotics, raising interest in the robotics industry. Global big tech companies such as Tesla and Nvidia are also focusing on robotics this year. Tesla unveiled the Optimus Gen2 in late 2022, improving its walking speed and movements significantly by applying artificial intelligence (AI) learning since revealing its humanoid vision in 2021. Nvidia, which announced its AI platform Groot for robot development last year, will launch the small computer for robots, 'Jetson Thor,' in the first half of this year.
Domestic corporations such as Hanwha, LG, and Hyundai Motor have been investing in the robotics industry for a long time. While expectations are high, performance is lacking, and improving results remains a challenge.
According to the robotics industry on the 7th, Samsung Electronics recently expanded its stake in Rainbow Robotics to 35.0%, becoming the largest shareholder. There are also predictions in the industry that Samsung Electronics will increase its stake to 60%. By investing in Rainbow Robotics, Samsung Electronics established the Future Robot Promotion Division directly under President Han Jong-hee, showing its commitment to robotic investment.
In addition to Rainbow Robotics, various robotics corporations have received investments from domestic large companies. LG Electronics is investing in Roboteers, Robostar, and Angel Robotics. LG Electronics is the largest shareholder with a 33.4% stake in Robostar, while Roboteers and Angel Robotics hold stakes of 7.4% and 6.42%, respectively. It is reported that Roboteers has signed a contract with LG Electronics for the supply of outdoor autonomous robots, starting deliveries last year.
Hyundai Motor Group acquired the U.S. robotics firm Boston Dynamics for 1 trillion won in 2021, and Hanwha Group established Hanwha Robotics by separating its collaborative robot, unmanned transport vehicle, and autonomous mobile robot operations from the Hanwha Momentum institutional sector in October 2023.
Rainbow Robotics and Neuromeka are supplying products to HD Hyundai, while Ghost Robotics and SB Tech are supplying products to domestic defense companies. The global robotics market, which was valued at $78 billion (115 trillion won) at the end of last year, is projected to expand to $165 billion (243 trillion won) by the end of 2029.
However, performance has yet to support these developments. Doosan Robotics, Angel Robotics, and Rainbow Robotics each saw their third-quarter performance decline compared to the same period last year. Doosan Robotics reported third-quarter revenue of 35.3 billion won, down 2.3% from the previous year, with an operating loss of 24.3 billion won, an increase of 51.5%. During the same period, Rainbow Robotics reported revenue of 9.7 billion won, a decrease of 7.9%, with an operating loss of 4 billion won. Angel Robotics recorded a revenue decrease of 10.2% to 3.4 billion won, and its operating loss rose 48.3% to 7.3 billion won.
Industry analysts suggest that to compete with global companies, there needs to be a strengthening of global sales networks and marketing, with efforts to penetrate overseas markets. As of the third quarter of last year, most companies, excluding Roboteers and Doosan Robotics, were focused on domestic sales. Roboteers and Doosan Robotics generated 67.5% and 60.5% of their revenues from exports, respectively.
Yang Seung-yoon, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, noted, "Korean robotics corporations have a domestic-oriented structure, but considering the size of the robotics market and the level of automation, they need to enter overseas markets, which are larger."