Samsung eyes B2B market with AI solutions

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman & CEO Han Jong-hee, center, listens to Samsung's B2B Solution Team head and Executive Vice President Park Chan-woo, left, as Park demonstrates the company's SmartThings Pro AI solutions for corporate clients at the IFA 2024 in Berlin, Saturday (local time).

BERLIN — Samsung Electronics showcased its artificial intelligence (AI) solutions targeting business-to-business (B2B) market during the IFA 2024 exhibition in Berlin, with a plan to introduce AI-assisted apartments, offices, stores and share homes in the near future.

“Since we declared our AI vision in January, the company has been gaining consumers’ trust with home appliances, screens and other AI-powered devices,” Samsung Electronics Korea Sales & Marketing Executive Vice President Lim Seong-taek said during a press briefing, Saturday (local time).

“Starting with this IFA exhibition, we will expand our AI solutions to B2B markets, concentrating on four core segments of apartments, offices, stores and shared homes.”

Samsung Electronics plans to expand AI services in B2B markets with SmartThings Pro, a business-tailored version of its connectivity platform SmartThings.

To this end, the company seeks to expand the supply of AI-powered appliances in apartments. As those appliances and apartments’ own smart home systems are connected and controlled with AI, users can catch elevators from their kitchen, or control a room’s temperature while watching TV in the other room.

As of July Samsung has introduced this system to 200,000 new apartment homes in Korea and plans to increase the number to 300,000 next year.

In an AI office, SmartThings Pro allows employees to access the building with facial recognition, while visitors are granted temporary access through a one-day QR code. During meetings, video conferencing systems, lighting and air conditioning are adjusted automatically.

“Personal AI assistants integrated into tablets manage meeting schedules, take minutes and provide translation services to improve employees’ productivity and efficiency,” Samsung’s B2B Solution Team head and Executive Vice President Park Chan-woo said, while demonstrating AI office functions at Samsung’s booth.

Park Chan-woo, Samsung Electronics B2B Solution Team head and executive vice president, speaks during a press briefing at the IFA 2024 in Berlin, Saturday (local time).

In an AI store, store owners can automate opening preparations based on preset operational logic. Throughout business hours, AI adjusts the temperature and lighting for optimal conditions and analyzes energy consumption patterns in real time. Park said that an average small store is charged an average of 1 million won for electricity costs, and owners can save hundreds of thousands of won by using AI-driven energy-saving algorithms.

For shared homes, AI Stay service allows guests to check in and check out without contact, and guests can use their smartphones to set their preferred temperature and room ambiance in advance.

For property managers, the system provides status updates and an energy consumption overview, allowing efficient remote management of the facilities.

Samsung Electronics said it plans to provide remote device management, security and other solutions tailored to each corporate user so that it can take an early lead in the B2B AI market.

“Pricing will be reasonable as well,” Park said. “In case of a regular-size convenience store, there are approximately 15 to 20 devices, and we may be able to charge an additional 10,000 or 20,000 won per device for installing SmartThings Pro solutions, so that we can prevent excessive burdens for store owners.”