Samsung Electronics is investing 59 billion KRW ($46 million) in Rainbow Robotics, a cooperation robotics company.
Rainbow Robotics has announced the issuance of KRW 58.9 billion ($46 million) in new shares, including 28.9 billion KRW ($22.5 million) for facility funding and 30 billion KRW ($23.5 million) for operating funds. The third-party allotment of shares is for Samsung Electronics, which will receive 1.94 million shares. Samsung Electronics has stated that the investment is for the purpose of "technical exchange and business cooperation."
Rainbow Robotics is a South Korean company that specializes in robotics. It was founded in 2011 by the research team, at the Humanoid Robot Research Center of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), that invented the humanoid robot “HUBO”. The company has been focusing on collaborative robotics since 2020 and is known for its advanced technology including self-collision detection and joint brake systems in the domestic market. The company has also gained a competitive edge by producing its own core robotic components, excluding decelerators.
This investment by Samsung Electronics is reportedly a move to meet the demand for automation. It is expected that the company will collaborate with Rainbow Robotics to produce robots needed on the manufacturing site.
Rainbow Robotics has been recording operating profits in Q4 of 2021, due to the trend towards unmanned automation in the industrial and food and beverage (F&B) sectors. Last October, the company secured a 5237m2 (56,371 ft2) plot in Sejong Tech Valley to expand its research and development (R&D) and production facilities.
Rainbow Robotics has developed its own decelerator for use in the quadruped walking robot, and has incorporated it into its core components. The robots are currently utilized for military purposes to accomplish national assignments.
Reporter Yoon Sup Song of sys@etnews.com