Samsung NEXT, who were formerly known as the Samsung Global Innovation Center, have announced the creation of a $150 million venture capital investment fund, which is named the Samsung NEXT Fund. This fund is to be utilised in supporting early startups who are focused on advanced software and services innovation and to provide them funding, resources and deep-domain expertise. Samsung benefits from access to more great ideas, products and talent.
“We see software and services becoming a core part of Samsung Electronics’ DNA, and startups are key to achieving this vision,” said David Eun, President and Founder of Samsung NEXT. “Samsung continues to embrace entrepreneurship at all levels and this Fund shows our unwavering commitment to support great startups worldwide.”
The startups will be pre-Seed to Series B investments who have a focus on virtual reality, artificial intelligence, IoT and other new frontier technologies. So far the fund has assisted companies Including:- Converge Industries, Dashbot, Entry Point VR, Filament, Intezer, LiquidSky, Otto Radio, 2Sens, SafeDK and Virtru.
Samsung NEXT are present at CES 2017 and will be showcasing startups from its investment portfolio.
- Baobab Studios – VR animation. baobabstudios.com
- BioBeats – AI and digital health. biobeats.com
- Branch – Mobile data linking. branch.io
- Filament – IOT. filament.com
- LiquidSky – Ultra low-latency cloud computing and gaming. liquidsky.tv
- Lotik – Wireless water intelligence. lotik.io
- Mapzen – Open source mapping services. mapzen.com
- Otto Radio – Curates news and podcasts with the push of a button. ottoradio.com
- UniKey – Alternative access control. unikey.com