Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) is joining forces with a world-renowned brain science research institute to tackle dementia through brain science research using its Galaxy Watch. As Samsung Electronics opens "Galaxy Unpacked 2026" in London next week and unveils the new "Galaxy Watch9" equipped with cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the company is expanding global partnerships and broadening its healthcare business beyond health management into the entire medical field.
According to industry sources on the 12th, Samsung Electronics recently formed a partnership with the Neuroscape research center under the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for research on cognitive decline in the brain, and has begun a large-scale joint clinical study. Neuroscape is a world-class research institute developing treatments for brain disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and dementia using new digital technologies including AI, virtual reality (VR), biosensors, brain-computer interfaces (BCI), and video games.
Samsung Electronics will provide the Galaxy Watch for a clinical study on cognitive decline that Neuroscape will conduct over one year this year with 1,000 test subjects. The company said it will collect data such as subjects' heart rate, electrocardiogram (ECG), blood pressure, blood oxygen level, and body composition (BIA) through the Galaxy Watch's biosensors, and analyze their correlation with symptoms of cognitive decline. Through this, it aims to find a "biomarker" that can detect cognitive decline early using the Galaxy Watch alone.
Cognitive decline, in which memory and concentration deteriorate, not only disrupts daily life but can also develop into brain disorders such as dementia. For this reason, detecting cognitive decline early is important. Samsung Electronics explained that clinical research efficiency and accuracy can be greatly improved as subjects wear the Galaxy Watch in daily life rather than at a hospital and provide data in real time.
Samsung Electronics is expanding the Galaxy Watch and its digital healthcare platform "Samsung Health" into the medical field by partnering not only with Neuroscape but also with various institutions and companies. Last month, the company also formed a partnership with Aldedis, a subsidiary of global healthcare AI company Huma Group, to deploy the Galaxy Watch in new drug clinical research.
Since May, Samsung Electronics and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) under Harvard Medical School have been conducting joint research tracking and analyzing the side effects of glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) class obesity treatments such as Wegovy and Mounjaro using the Galaxy Watch. With Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital, it found and announced a method to predict vasovagal syncope five minutes before it occurs using the Galaxy Watch.
Samsung Electronics plans to expand its "Samsung Health" business, built on the Galaxy Watch, beyond daily health management into all fields of medicine to seize an early lead in the rapidly growing AI healthcare market. According to market research firm Fortune Business Insights, the global AI healthcare market is expected to grow from 56 billion dollars (about 84 trillion won) this year to 1.0332 trillion dollars (about 1,553 trillion won) in 2034.
Samsung Electronics will accelerate its medical business expansion through the "Galaxy Watch9," a new product it will unveil at the London Unpacked on the 22nd. The Galaxy Watch9 has been confirmed to feature new AI functions that measure various health indicators in daily life, such as vital signs, heart health score, daily aerobic load, physical fitness index, and hearing. Unlike its predecessor, which used the in-house chip "Exynos W1000," the Watch9 will strengthen performance further by equipping its top-tier model with Qualcomm's "Snapdragon Wear Elite."
"The healthcare business is shifting from after-the-fact treatment to prevention," a Samsung Electronics official said. "We will build a virtuous cycle in which collected data leads to health research, and then to information that helps patients again."
