Seoul, South Korea—LG Electronics (KRX: 066570) has entered a stock purchase agreement to invest $60 million in Bear Robotics, a Silicon Valley-based startup specializing in AI-driven autonomous service robots.
The move aims to accelerate LG's development of capabilities in the service robotics market, a key new business area for the company.
The strategic investment, which will make LG the largest single shareholder in Bear Robotics, is focused on strengthening LG's portfolio for long-term growth rather than seeking short-term returns.
By combining Bear Robotics' expertise in platform service robot software, robot fleet management technology, and cloud-based control solutions with LG's strengths in robot deployment and management, the company aims to improve operational efficiency and promote synergies in the robot business.
LG is preparing to transition to software-defined robotics (SDR) and recognizes the critical importance of standardizing AI-based autonomous robot platforms.
The company views this strategic investment as a critical opportunity to enhance its robot business capabilities and lead efforts to standardize robot platforms to reduce market entry costs.
The service robotics market is expected to proliferate, with global forecasts showing an increase from $36.2 billion in 2021 to $103.3 billion in 2026.
In line with its Future Vision 2030, LG aims to achieve the "Triple Seven": an average growth rate, operating profit of seven percent or more, and an enterprise value that translates into an EBITDA ratio of seven.
