[Edaily Reporter JAEMIN SONG ] SamsungElectroMechanics and LG Innotek are expanding the technologies they have accumulated in mobile and IT components into the fields of AI servers, autonomous driving, and humanoid robots. They are boosting competitiveness across their entire business by significantly increasing investment in research and development (R&D) while also applying AI to their development and production sites.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on the 20th, SamsungElectroMechanics and LG Innotek’s combined R&D expenses for the first half of this year totaled 881.5 billion won, an 18.2% increase from the same period last year (746.0 billion won). If the current trend is simply extrapolated on an annualized basis, the annual R&D expenditure would exceed 1.76 trillion won.

SamsungElectroMechanics’ R&D expenses for the first half totaled 474.1 billion won, a 26.0% increase from the same period last year. The ratio of R&D expenses to revenue also rose from 6.8% to 7.1%. SamsungElectroMechanics is focusing on the development of high-value-added products, such as ultra-high-capacity multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) for AI servers and data centers, flip-chip ball grid arrays (FC-BGA) for AI accelerators, and camera modules for autonomous driving.

LG Innotek invested 407.3 billion won in R&D in the first half of the year, a 10.2% increase compared to the same period last year. Although the proportion of R&D spending relative to revenue fell from 4.1% to 3.7% as revenue grew at a faster pace, the investment amount itself saw double-digit growth. The company is fostering next-generation substrates and advanced packaging for AI servers and high-performance computing (HPC), as well as multi-sensor systems for autonomous driving and sensing and control solutions for humanoid robots, as new growth engines.

Both companies are not only supplying AI components but are also integrating AI into their research, development, and production processes. SamsungElectroMechanics operates an “AI Solutions Team” and an “Agentic AI Development Task Force” dedicated to streamlining AI-based development and manufacturing. LG Innotek uses AI to predict process defects and derive optimal production recipes, and by applying AI vision to incoming raw material inspections, it has reduced the time required to analyze defect causes by 90% compared to previous methods.

This expansion of investment is expected to lead to improved financial performance. SamsungElectroMechanics forecast record-high third-quarter earnings, driven by demand for AI data centers and autonomous driving components. KB Securities noted that LG Innotek’s AI semiconductor substrate utilization rate is nearing 100% and predicted that its operating profit in the second half of this year will reach its highest level since the second half of 2021.

An industry official stated, “In the AI and physical AI markets, customers demand high levels of performance and reliability, and product changes occur rapidly,” adding, “How quickly companies can complete technology validation through proactive R&D will determine their competitiveness in securing future orders.”