U.S. semiconductor corporations Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) said on the 9th it will deliver results in Korea's robotics market based on its integrated solutions.
The "physical AI" (artificial intelligence embedded in robots and devices to perceive physical space and make decisions on its own) market is seen as having entered an activation phase, starting with CES 2026, the world's largest IT show held last month. TI is broadening contact points with customers to achieve results in the Korean market based on the Robotics semiconductor solutions it has launched so far.
Giovanni Campanella, TI head of industrial automation and Robotics, held a "robot semiconductor solutions" press briefing at the TI Korea building in Gangnam, Seoul, on the same day and said, "As we are seeing universities and corporations in Korea invest in humanoids, we are expanding the scope of collaboration."
At CES 2026, Hyundai Motor Group unveiled "Atlas," and LG Electronics introduced "Cloid." Regarding this, Campanella said, "Even though these are the first humanoid models, they showed high performance, and internally at TI we assess that Korea's Robotics technology level is high," adding, "Korea has a significant strength particularly in automobile manufacturing, which will be an advantage for Robotics manufacturing."
He added, "TI is already working closely in Robotics not only with Korean original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) but also with tier-1 suppliers," and "We are also collaborating with companies that develop robot components such as sensors and actuators, so we view Korea as one of the important markets and are expanding business opportunities."
An actuator is a module that combines ▲ a motor that creates rotational force ▲ a driver that controls electrical signals ▲ a reducer that adjusts speed, serving as a "robot's joint." It is a key component that accounts for the largest share of robot manufacturing costs. TI said actuators require miniaturized, low-power semiconductors, and its semiconductor solutions, based on gallium nitride (GaN) technology, can be an alternative. GaN semiconductors operate stably under high-voltage, high-frequency, and high-temperature conditions compared with conventional silicon (Si), and their lower power loss makes them suitable for compact, high-efficiency devices.
Humanoid developers typically require semiconductor corporations to meet a voltage range within 48 volts (V). The components must satisfy this condition, be small enough to be mounted in joints, and have no heat issues. Campanella said, "Semiconductors embedded in robot joints must be small with high power density, so the center of gravity is shifting from conventional silicon MOSFETs (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors) to GaN," adding, "TI has many semiconductor solutions using GaN materials, which is a strength."
He continued, "The GaN semiconductors TI provides meet the humanoid voltage range while being small in size, and with current around 50 amperes (A) they have no heat issues," adding, "This means we have the most general-purpose robot semiconductor solutions."
Campanella also said TI has strengths in radar, which is essential for robots to perceive the real world and perform safe actions. He said, "Robots must be able to detect all information within their sensing bubble to ensure safety," adding, "TI has radar sensing technology capable of implementing high-density sensing ranges."
TI provides these robot solutions in an "integrated" form. Campanella said, "TI is one of the few corporations in the world that has solutions across all areas needed to realize robots—motor control, sensing, computing, and communications," adding, "If customers use TI solutions, they can virtually skip much of the initial stage and significantly shorten the overall timeline."
TI is a semiconductor corporations with a market capitalization of about $200.846 billion (about 293 trillion won). It designs, manufactures, and sells analog and embedded processors installed in a variety of equipment, including industrial, automotive, data centers, electronics, and communications. It has about 80,000 products, and around 100,000 customers worldwide.