LG ACQUIRES MAJORITY STAKE IN BEAR ROBOTICS TO BOLSTER ROBOTICS CAPABILITIES
LG Electronics (LG) has taken a significant step in advancing its robotics capabilities by securing a majority stake in Bear Robotics, a prominent Silicon Valley-based startup specializing in AI-driven autonomous service robots. This acquisition aligns with LG's strategy to strengthen its presence in the robotics sector, a key growth area for the company.
On January 22, LG's board of directors exercised a call option to acquire an additional 30 percent stake in Bear Robotics. This follows an initial investment of USD 60 million in March 2024, which secured LG a 21 percent stake and a call option agreement for up to an additional 30 percent stake. Upon completion of the call option exercise, LG will hold a controlling 51 percent stake in Bear Robotics, effectively incorporating it as a subsidiary.
As part of this strategic move, LG's commercial robot business, primarily centered around 'LG CLOi Robots,' will be integrated with Bear Robotics. The key management team of Bear Robotics, including CEO John Ha, will remain in place to ensure stable business continuity and will continue to focus on creating synergies in LG's commercial robot business.
Founded in 2017, Bear Robotics has gained recognition for its AI-powered indoor delivery robots, catering to markets in the United States, South Korea and Japan. The company is noted for its expertise in distributed multi-robot control, remote fleet management system and AI-powered robot platform.
LG aims to expand its presence in the commercial robot market through Bear Robotics. Concurrently, LG intends to leverage its AI and manufacturing expertise to reinforce its home and industrial robot businesses.
The home robot segment will be spearheaded by the LG Home Appliance Solution Company, a renowned industry leader. The company's focus will be on delivering a holistic experience where home robots, powered by LG's Affectionate Intelligence, can astutely discern the well-being of family members and seamlessly integrate with home appliances and services.
A prime illustration of this vision is the Self-driving AI Home Hub (project name: Q9), slated for release within the year. The Q9 harnesses multimodal sensing capabilities, encompassing voice, sound and image recognition, coupled with autonomous driving technology. This enables it to navigate the home effortlessly, precisely identify users' status and respond to their needs effectively by seamlessly connecting and controlling home appliances and IoT devices. The Q9 adeptly navigates obstacles such as carpets and uneven surfaces, while its expressive display conveys emotions, fostering enhanced interaction and engagement.
The Q9 also features Microsoft's voice recognition and synthesis technology, enabling natural and intuitive conversations with users. Its ability to understand diverse accents, pronunciations and colloquial expressions garnered the attention of attendees at CES 2025. To foster an open development ecosystem, LG has also introduced a software development kit for the Q9, encouraging developers to expand its capabilities further.
In the realm of industrial robots, a cornerstone of LG's Smart Factory business, the company's Production engineering Research Institute is spearheading substantial revenue growth through the integration of AI and digital transformation. A key example is the 'Autonomous Vertical Articulated Robot,' which employs sensors including cameras, radar and LiDAR to perceive its surroundings, navigate efficiently, supply materials and execute tasks such as assembly and defect inspection with its robotic arm. This innovation facilitates seamless automation across a range of operations.
LG's CEO William Cho, speaking this month at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, emphasized the importance of this investment, stating, 'Robots are a certain future,' and hinted at plans to expand beyond the current focus on hospitality and logistics delivery robots to include the Self-driving AI Home Hub and other home robots to achieve 'Zero-labor Home.'
The acquisition of management control of Bear Robotics is expected to create synergies across LG's entire robotics business, including commercial robots. As the robotics industry increasingly shifts towards AI-centric solutions, this collaboration is poised to significantly enhance LG's overall robotics software capabilities. LG intends to create an integrated software platform for commercial, industrial and home robots leveraging Bear Robotics' technology. This platform aims to deliver a consistent and high-quality user experience across various applications. By applying this integrated platform universally to the development of different types of robots, LG expects to shorten development cycles.
LG's advanced manufacturing capabilities and supply chain management expertise are poised to enhance the operational efficiency and market responsiveness of its robotics business. Furthermore, the extensive global sales network developed through its B2B operations will facilitate broader product distribution. By integrating commercial robots with a range of B2B solutions, including hotel TVs, signage and IT devices, LG can achieve a competitive edge through a turnkey order approach, delivering tailored products that meet the specific needs of corporate clients.
'This additional investment underscores our dedication to positioning robots as a pivotal growth engine for the company, reflecting our belief in their inevitable role in the future,' stated Lee Sam-soo, Chief Strategy Officer at LG Electronics. 'We will persist in driving innovation across all sectors of robotics, encompassing commercial, industrial and home applications.'
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