LG has reassessed its investment decision-making framework in line with the AI era. The company has identified AI factories, physical AI, and semiconductor materials and substrates as key areas for competition, aiming to enhance its strategy and execution speed to make swift investment decisions based on market and technological changes.
On September 16, LG held an executive meeting at its LG Inhwa Center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, attended by Koo Kwang-mo, CEO of LG Corp., and over 40 top executives from its major affiliates. Executives from LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Innotek, LG Chem, LG Energy Solution, and LG Uplus discussed investment strategies for approximately eight hours.
The meeting focused on reviewing existing investment outcomes and future strategies centered on AI factories, physical AI, semiconductor materials and substrates, and AI transformation (AX). The rapid changes brought by AI in industrial structures, manufacturing, and research and development necessitate an upgrade in existing investment criteria.
The executives agreed to first establish clear business objectives and portfolio strategies, then validate multiple scenarios based on market, competition, and technological changes to enhance the quality of investment decisions. They also reached a consensus on increasing execution speed by concentrating resources and capabilities in promising areas as investment opportunities arise.
Last month, LG entered into a strategic partnership with NVIDIA in the fields of robotics, AI factories, and mobility, planning to establish an AI factory based on the next-generation AI platform 'Vera Rubin' next year, with an expansion to 80MW in Chungnam by 2028, thus transitioning AI investments into actual production infrastructure.
Amid market debates over the pace of AI investment, LG has decided to focus on creating value in real customer and industrial settings rather than solely on the technology itself. Recently, the LG AI Research Institute unveiled AI technology capable of predicting factory conditions and conducting inspections, further extending AI from the research phase to industrial applications.
This year, LG has also been specifying the themes of its executive meetings on a quarterly basis. In March, the focus was on AX to discuss execution speed, while June's meeting centered on 'Winning R&D' to assess research and development competitiveness. The September meeting prioritized investment strategy as a core agenda item.
Koo Kwang-mo stated, "AI is no longer an area that can be addressed selectively; it is a core pillar that determines future competitiveness. I urge the executives to maintain a rapid pace and relentless execution to succeed in the future battleground of AI."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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