Samsung Electronics said Friday it will actively respond to growing demand in the artificial intelligence era and overhaul the way it works, as its semiconductor and consumer electronics chiefs highlighted AI as a core theme in separate New Year's messages.
Jun Young-hyun, vice chairman and head of the Device Solutions division, which oversees the company's semiconductor business, and Roh Tae-moon, president and head of the Device eXperience division, covering consumer electronics and mobile devices, delivered 2026 New Year's messages tailored to their respective businesses.
Highlighting the successful development of HBM4, the latest generation of the popular high-bandwidth memory, Jun stressed the need to restore fundamental technological competitiveness in memory.
"HBM4 is showing differentiated competitiveness, with some customers even saying 'Samsung is back.' We must decisively restore our fundamental technological competitiveness in memory," Jun said.
Last year, Samsung entered the supply chains of major customers, including Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom, with its fifth-generation HBM3E products, and has recently received top scores in HBM4 system-in-package tests from Nvidia and Broadcom, according to industry sources.
"Samsung is the world's only semiconductor company capable of offering a 'one-stop solution,' spanning logic chips, memory, foundry services and advanced packaging. With this strength, we can respond to unprecedented demand for AI chips, and lead the AI era," Jun said.
He also called for development of chip-specific AI solutions using advanced AI technologies and high-quality data to be applied across design, R&D, manufacturing and quality control to drive technological innovation.
"This is an era in which customer expectations must be our benchmark. Let's change our product-centered strategy to a more customer-oriented one," Jun said.
Samsung's foundry business has also entered a phase of full-scale growth, and the company should convert emerging opportunities into concrete results based on technology and trust, Jun added.
Overseeing the mobile device business, Roh focused on AI transformation.
"All devices and service ecosystems must be organically integrated with AI technologies to deliver the best possible customer experience," Roh said, adding that this would enable Samsung to become a leading company in the AI transition.
Roh described AI transformation (AX) as a "fundamental shift" rather than a simple tool, calling for changes in both thinking and work process.
"AX is not just a tool, but a process that fundamentally transforms how we think and work," he said. "By using AI, we must innovate not only the way we work but also how we think, improving speed and productivity."
The mobile chief also emphasized that Samsung's technological capabilities and proactive risk management could serve as powerful tools to turn crises into opportunities, urging the company to secure market leadership through strong product competitiveness and effective crisis response.
"We should establish a corporate culture that encourages fast execution and bold challenges," Roh said. "Compliance is a nonnegotiable principle for both the company and employees, and is essential to a sustainable future."
Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong did not issue a separate New Year's message. Lee is expected to meet with chief executives of major affiliates to discuss key strategies this month.
herim@heraldcorp.com
