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Samsung is launching an "AI transformation" that will fully integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into all operations across its affiliates. The plan is to fundamentally change how the company works and its organizational culture by embedding AI throughout the entire value chain—from research and development (R&D) to production, marketing, sales, services and management support. Samsung plans to accelerate the transformation of its organizational DNA into "AI native," starting with intensive training for its chief executive officers (CEOs) and presidents.
Samsung announced on the 9th that it is launching AX (AI Transformation), an initiative to introduce AI across all operations at every affiliate and to redesign organizational management methods around AI.
The move follows Samsung Electronics (005930) Chairman Lee Jae-yong's emphasis in his New Year's address this year that "we must completely change our way of working and organizational DNA" and that "AI must be applied across the entire work value chain, from research and development (R&D) to production, marketing and support."
Samsung has been accelerating the establishment of an AI ecosystem in the product and service domains. It has led the market with products including the world's first "AI phone," the Galaxy S24 series, as well as AI home appliances and AI glasses. Now, Samsung is pursuing a strategy to shift beyond products to transform its working methods and organizational culture around AI.
Samsung's AI transformation goes beyond simply using generative AI tools at work. The emphasis is on treating AI not as a new technology or auxiliary means, but as core infrastructure for management innovation. The strategy applies AI across eight major work processes—development, procurement, manufacturing, logistics, marketing, sales, services and management support—to boost productivity and change even decision-making methods.
To this end, Samsung plans to introduce external generative AI services such as Google's Gemini, OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude across all affiliates within this month. Through this, it plans to expand the use of AI not only in office and planning tasks such as software and marketing, but also in field operations such as development and manufacturing. In line with the AI rollout, it also plans to establish detailed operating policies tailored to each job and organizational characteristic, and to advance its AI usage policies and security systems.
The core of the "AX declaration" is for CEOs to understand AI and personally lead the transformation. Determining that "the CEO's AI literacy decides the success or failure of AX," Samsung is conducting an "AX boot camp," an intensive AI training program, for the presidents of all affiliates. This is the first time AI training is being conducted for all presidents.
The training will be held over two days this month at the Hoam Hall of the Human Resources Development Institute. About 50 presidents from across the affiliates will receive hands-on training in which they use generative AI to derive ways to innovate their work. Rather than a simple lecture, the training will have executives personally handle AI and present how they will change each company's work processes. Through this, Samsung intends to have presidents personally design and execute work innovation using AI.
The presidents also plan to proclaim a joint "AX vision" at the AX boot camp. As the global industrial paradigm is reshaped around AI, the vision is expected to reflect a sense of crisis that any company that fails to change its way of working and thinking could quickly fall behind. Samsung's aim is to reproduce in the AI era the experience of the 1990s digital transformation period, when preemptive change and bold investment helped it leap from a domestic-focused company to a global one.
Following the presidents, Samsung will conduct three-day, two-night AI training for about 2,300 executives across all affiliates through August 12 at the Samsung Electronics Human Development Institute and the Changjo Hall of the Human Resources Development Institute.
One executive who completed the training said, "I was amazed that learning AI systematically allows you to do so much work so easily," adding, "I felt an urgency and sense of crisis that we must immediately and fundamentally change the way we work in the field." Samsung plans to complete AI training for all employees by the end of this year.
Samsung will also establish dedicated AI organizations at all affiliates. These dedicated AI organizations will establish AX promotion strategies tailored to each business's characteristics and handle data and AI model operations, AI talent development and more. By permitting the full use of external generative AI while also building a sophisticated security system, the company plans to achieve both "expanded AI utilization" and "risk control" simultaneously.
A Samsung official said, "Amid massive changes and crises such as digital transformation and mobile transformation, we have leaped to become a world-class global company through bold challenges and innovation," adding, "The 'AI transformation' is the starting point of innovation to leap into an AI native company, and we will seize and lead the opportunities of the AI era."
