Samsung Electronics established a new company-level robotics division on July 21, 2026, reporting directly to the CEO. Korean media identified it as the RX (Robotics eXperience) division, led by chief executive Roh Tae-moon — who also runs Samsung's Device eXperience business — with a robotics strategy team under Lee Dong-gun, hired in May 2026 from Hyundai Motor Group, where he had directed robotics strategy including Boston Dynamics. Samsung shares rose on the news.
One of the world's largest electronics manufacturers just made robotics a CEO-level priority. The humanoid race now runs through Suwon, too. — EW analysis
The move consolidates work that had been scattered across the company, spanning long-term strategy through commercialization, and builds on Samsung's roughly 35% stake in Rainbow Robotics, the KAIST-spun humanoid maker it holds as a consolidated subsidiary. Samsung is basing the unit at its Seoul R&D campus, plans a data factory at its Gumi complex, and says it will add research bases in the US, China and Japan. Two academics — a Seoul National University professor working on guidance and control and an Ajou University professor focused on dexterous hands — are joining.
The hand focus is telling: Samsung notes a robotic hand can account for 17–31% of a humanoid's component cost, the hardest and most expensive part to get right. Standing up robotics as a CEO-led division, outside Samsung's usual year-end reshuffle, casts physical AI as a growth engine at a moment when its mobile and appliance businesses face pressure — and puts a manufacturer with the supply chain and capital to match directly into the humanoid race.
Key Facts
- CEO-led RX robotics division established July 21, 2026
- Led by CEO Roh Tae-moon; strategy team under ex-Hyundai exec Lee Dong-gun
- Builds on Samsung's ~35% stake in Rainbow Robotics (KAIST spin-out)
- Data factory planned at Gumi; R&D bases in US, China, Japan
- Focus on dexterous hands (17–31% of a humanoid's component cost)
Frequently Asked
What did Samsung announce?
On July 21, 2026, Samsung Electronics established a CEO-led robotics division (reported as 'RX'), consolidating physical-AI work spread across the company and reporting directly to the chief executive.
Who leads Samsung's robotics division?
CEO Roh Tae-moon, who also heads Samsung's Device eXperience business, with a robotics strategy team under Lee Dong-gun, hired in 2026 from Hyundai Motor Group.
Why does it matter?
It puts one of the world's largest electronics makers — with a deep supply chain and capital — formally into the humanoid race, backed by its ~35% stake in Rainbow Robotics and a focus on dexterous hands.