A senior researcher at Samsung Electronics has identified the automotive industry as the next big thing in the information and communications technology sector. Speaking at a tech seminar in Seoul wednesday, Mr Kim Do-kyun, a senior researcher at Samsung’s memory business division, posited that automotive will in the long run be the next big thing when it comes to the ICT sector.
Mr Do-kyun was speaking at the Mobile and IoT Forum organised by Samsung and held at Yangjae, south Seoul, South Korea. According to the researcher, automotive features numerous electronics components like system-on-chip, cpu, camera and displays which makes the industry packed with potential opportunities in infotainment, advanced driving assistance system, telematics.
Mr Kim went further to predict that dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) capacity for automobiles will catch up with that of smartphones as early as 2017, giving an insight into how far automobile manufacturers are integrating ICT in automobiles.
Mr Kim’s statement is a reflection of Samsung’s vision of the automotive sector. The tech giant has already made bold moves in that direction, setting up an automobile electronics team in December and initiating series of acquisition deals, some signed and sealed while others are still in the works.
Bloomberg earlier this month reported that the world’s largest smartphone maker is in advanced talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to buy up some stakes in auto-part manufacturer Magneti Marelli from the company in a deal said to be in the tune of $3 billion. We also recall last month’s acquisition of a 1.92 percent stakes in the world’s largest car electric car manufacturer, BYD with an investment of $461 million (512 billion won) and the Korean giant is rumored to be planning to buy other auto-related companies.
According to market research firm IHS, the estimated market volume of automobile electronics last year was around $10.6 billion and the research firm forecast this figure doubling by 2020. Considering this, Samsung may just be making the right decision by solidifying its position as an ICT provider in the automobile industry.
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