Microsoft CEO meets Samsung chief in Seoul

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks during the firm's Future Now conference at the Grand Hilton Seoul hotel, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Microsoft Korea

By Baek Byung-yeul

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong met Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Wednesday to discuss potential business cooperation in emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), according to the Korean tech giant.

“Lee and Nadella held a meeting in Seoul earlier in the day to share ideas to strengthen business ties between the two companies,” a Samsung spokesman said.

The spokesman said the two business leaders “agreed to expand cooperation in future growth industries such as AI, cloud computing, data centers, the fifth-generation (5G) network and software industries.”

Nadella visited Korea to join Microsoft's Future Now AI conference. Since he became the U.S. tech behemoth's third CEO in 2014, succeeding Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, he has successfully transitioned the company from a software licensing firm to a cloud and AI technologies firm.

The firm posted revenue of $29.1 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2019, including $8.6 billion in intelligent cloud business.

Given Microsoft has shifted its focus to cloud computing and AI, and that solid-state drives (SSDs) are widely being used in data centers for cloud computing services to boost data-processing speeds, Samsung is likely to expand its SSD shipments to the U.S. firm.

As a keynote speaker, Nadella emphasized the importance of digitization to take advantage of various business opportunities.

“Computing is being embedded in every industry, whether it is the gaming industry, consumer electronics or automotive,” Nadella said during his speech at the conference at the Grand Hilton Seoul hotel. “It is also in everything. Every car has a computer and every refrigerator has computers.”

Nadella cited several Korean firms, calling them successful examples of implementing the U.S. firm's AI solutions. They are Samsung, game company Pearl Abyss, 365 mc, a local clinic for liposuction surgery, and auto repair app operator Cardoc.

Nadella also called on firms to protect the privacy of their users, saying that tech firms need to consider the unintended consequences of every business

“As you think about all these technologies and all these use cases, there are unintended consequences of technology,” Nadella said, adding that companies need to protect customers' privacy.