The Samsung Group is funding four Indian start-ups in its first round of investments in the country. It has plans to fund 100 new and growth-seeking ventures within a few years.
The Samsung Venture Investment Corporation (SVIC) has already invested about $8.5 million in the four companies. Samsung aims to invest in low-value start-ups to maximise profits through growth, reported Economic Times.
The conglomerate started its investments in India by funding start-ups like Indus OS (system application maker), Gnani.ai (speech analytics and voice assistant), Internet of Things firm Silvan Innovation Labs. It has also funded an undisclosed firm working in the field of AI and computer vision space. Samsung has also identified other companies in which it will be investing gradually.
The Korean major is planning to invest in verticals such as software and services by understanding the start-up ecosystem and considering the growth potential of the sectors in the developing country. "We're looking to back start-ups in broadly two categories — core technologies such as AI, IoT, VR, and services such as content, ed-tech, and med-tech," said Aloknath De, Corporate Vice President and CTO of Samsung R&D Institute to Economic Times.
The company has been keen on investing in start-ups that have the potential globally. Samsung's R&D centre hosts many start-ups and provides them better platforms through business engagements to bring in new innovations. The motto behind its investments in India is to augment the capabilities of innovators to build services for the Indian market.
