Samsung holds forum on tech in Silicon Valley

Yoon Boo-keun, CEO of Samsung Electronics’ consumer electronics business, delivers a keynote speech at the 2017 Tech Forum in Silicon Valley on Tuesday. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics invited 100 Silicon Valley developers and designers to exchange perspectives on new developments in the tech sector at a forum at the Samsung Research America headquarters in Mountain View, California Tuesday.

Yoon Boo-keun, CEO of Samsung’s consumer electronics division, told the audience in a keynote speech for the 2017 Tech Forum that the company is trying to narrow gap between customers, innovations that could touch their lives and the workforce behind the innovations.

“Under the current situation of consumers and technologies going through transformations simultaneously, when a company moves forward by inertia, the gap between what consumers want and technologies created by the company will only get bigger,” Yoon said. “The keyword to closing the gap is ‘connect.’”

Yoon noted that the concept of “connect” does not merely refer to technologies but to new possibilities beyond the current imagination, which bring together customers, innovations and employees. He said the company would try to cultivate a culture that allows its workers to reach their full potential.

Yoon’s speech was followed by an introduction of Samsung’s major research and development projects in the fields of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, automotive parts and design, and discussions between Samsung executives from both Korea and the United States and the invited guests.

Samsung showed its latest The Frame TV, that doubles as artwork on a wall, Galaxy Note8 smartphones, various wearables and Relumino, a visual aid app for people with impaired vision.

Other attendees from Samsung included Shin Jong-kyun, CEO of internet and mobile communications; David Eun, founder and president of Samsung Next; Kim Chang-yong, head of DMC R&D Center; and Cho Seung-hwan, deputy head of Software R&D Center.

Samsung Research America is behind an array of next-generation software and services for future products. Samsung Next, formerly the Samsung Global Innovation Center, has been supporting early-stage start-ups with advanced software and services. It is headquartered in New York and has branches in Silicon Valley, Berlin, Tel Aviv and Seoul. In January it launched a $150 million venture capital investment fund targeting pre-Seed to Series B investments with a focus on virtual reality, artificial intelligence, IoT and other innovative technologies.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun@joongang.co.kr]