Samsung acquires UK start-up to create ‘personalised AI’

18 Jul 2024

Image: © Ned Snowman/Stock.adobe.com

Samsung has been profiting from its AI focus and plans to use the start-up’s knowledge graph technology to create more sophisticated and personalised AI.

Samsung has signed an agreement to acquire Oxford Semantic Technologies and plans to use the start-up’s tech to enhance its AI offerings.

The tech giant said that, combined with its own on-device AI technology, Oxford Semantic’s tech will facilitate “hyper-personalised user experiences” on all of its AI products. The financial terms of the proposed deal have not been shared.

Oxford Semantic Technologies was founded in 2017 by three professors from the University of Oxford’s Department of Computer science. The company is focused on knowledge representation and reasoning – a field of AI study. It involves representing information in ways that will let computer systems make decisions with human-like reasoning.

To make this possible, Oxford Semantic Technologies is working on knowledge graph technology – storing information in an interconnected web of related ideas and entities in an attempt to mimic how humans think. The start-up has created its own reasoning engine, RDFox, which it uses to collaborate with various companies in Europe and North America.

Samsung says this type of technology enables rapid information retrieval and recommendation and believes it is one of the “key technologies for realising more sophisticated and personalised AI solutions”.

The tech giant has collaborated with the UK start-up on various projects since 2018, but now aims to secure its technology through the acquisition.

“By integrating Samsung’s expertise in user experience and data with our advanced knowledge graph and reasoning technology, we will provide Samsung’s customers with even more sophisticated personalisation,” said Oxford Semantic Technologies CEO Peter Crocker. “In addition, developing RDFox with Samsung and being part of the larger group will provide all of our clients with an even better product, service and support.”

Samsung announced a series of AI upgrades for its latest smartphones earlier this year, which has helped the company regain a lead in the smartphone market. The company also saw its profits surge earlier this year thanks to growing demand for semiconductors.

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Leigh Mc Gowran is a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com