Samsung Creates $300M Autonomous Driving Fund

Samsung is making a huge investment in autonomous driving.

The visitor on Thursday announced it has established a $300 million fund, which will focus on "connected motorcar and autonomous technologies, including smart sensors, machine vision, bogus intelligence, loftier-functioning computing, connectivity solutions, automotive-grade safe solutions, security, and privacy."

On pinnacle of that, the Korean tech giant is establishing a new autonomous driving unit within Harman, the U.s. auto parts supplier it acquired earlier this year. The new Harman unit will work with Samsung's Smart Machines team to develop new technologies for connected vehicles.

"During this period of extraordinary transformation in the automotive industry, we are excited to play a leadership part in supporting and shaping the future of smarter, more continued vehicles," Samsung Electronics President and Chief Strategy Officer Young Sohn said in a statement.

Samsung said its goal with these efforts is to bring new technologies to market that "will assist make cars safer while creating a more comfy and user-friendly mobility experience."

Just don't wait Samsung to unveil its own car any time soon. The company said it "will not enter the machine-manufacturing business." Instead, Samsung will work with automakers and other mobility companies to "develop the side by side generation of automotive innovation."

Meanwhile, Samsung has already secured the appropriate licenses to examination its automated driving software and hardware on roads in Korea and California.

The starting time investment from Samsung's new Automotive Innovation Fund will go to Austria-based TTTech, which develops safety controls for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving platforms.

"There is already a high demand for ADAS solutions, and that demand is apace growing with the advancements in connected cars and autonomous driving," Harman President and CEO Dinesh Paliwal said in a statement.

About Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo is PCMag's proficient on fettle and smart home products. Teaching yoga for virtually 10 years has helped her in evaluating a range of connected health products including fitness trackers, eye rate monitors, rowers, smart scales, stationary bikes, strength grooming machines, treadmills, and more. Angela also tests smart abode devices from her ranch in Florida, including air purifiers, kitchen appliances, and robot vacuums, simply to name a few.