South Korean IT Giants Seize Factory AI Market
South Korean IT service giants are aggressively targeting the factory AI operating system market.
Major domestic technology firms including Samsung SDS and LG CNS detailed their expanded physical artificial intelligence strategies during recent second-quarter earnings conference calls. Physical AI extends beyond text-generating models. It enables software to control robots and physical equipment in real-world industrial spaces.
Samsung SDS Deploys Robot Orchestration
Samsung SDS is scaling its global robotics partnerships. The effort is anchored by a strategic investment in the US-based robotics technology firm Walden Robotics, facilitated through Samsung Venture Investment.
The core initiative centers on robot orchestration. This system connects robots built by different manufacturers to a manufacturing execution system, or MES. Modern factories typically mix autonomous mobile robots, collaborative robots, and robotic arms, each operating on disparate control systems.
According to company disclosures, Samsung SDS acts as a central director. It assigns tasks efficiently and synchronizes movements with factory production plans. By analyzing production schedules, facility status, and logistics flows, the platform assigns duties to appropriate robots using established manufacturing IT expertise.
LG CNS Secures Large-Scale Robot Learning Infrastructure
LG CNS is undertaking a major infrastructure project for LG Electronics. The firm is supplying high-performance robot learning graphics processing units and data storage worth 1,897 billion South Korean won for a new smart factory, with the contract running through July 2029.
The agreement establishes a data factory infrastructure designed to advance robot foundation models. While generative AI learns from text and images, robots require repeated physical motion and task data to learn spatial awareness and object manipulation.
LG CNS leverages its proprietary Physicalworks platform to aggregate robot data, train and validate foundation models, and assign tasks to deployed units. The company is also participating in the learning and validation processes for LG Electronics’ humanoid robot, Cloid.
SK AX and PoscoDX Drive Industrial Automation
Additional industry players are tailoring their industrial automation strategies around proprietary manufacturing environments. SK AX promotes a manufacturing robot conversion full-stack service that validates processes in virtual environments via digital twins before deploying mobile and collaborative robots to physical shop floors, utilizing vision-language-action models alongside MES integration.
PoscoDX focuses on the autonomous operation of heavy steel mill equipment. It applies image recognition AI and precise position control to cranes, port unloaders, and reclaimer systems. By training AI models in simulated industrial environments before field deployment, the firm targets dangerous and repetitive industrial machinery rather than general-purpose humanoids.
Hyundai AutoEver similarly operates an integrated control platform for mobile robots. The company draws directly on Hyundai Motor Group’s smart factory deployment history.