Samsung said Thursday it has agreed to acquire Oxford Semantic Technologies, a UK-based startup specializing in knowledge graph technology.
The South Korean tech giant said combining such technology with AI on device same as above Galaxy S24 Series will deliver a “hyper-personalized” user experience while keeping personal data secure on the device. The company did not share details of the deal.
Also: 45+ Best Prime Day 2024 Tablet Deals: Last Chance to Save
Samsung says knowledge graph technology stores information as a network of interconnected related ideas and processes data similarly to how humans acquire, remember, recall, and reason about knowledge.
The company says this helps increase understanding of how people use products and services, allowing for quick retrieval of information and recommendations.
Also: Samsung S95D OLED is the best TV at CES 2024 and the best in the world right now
Oxford Semantic Technologies, founded in 2017, offers its technology in the form of an AI engine called RDFox, which can be applied to devices to enhance on-device AI capabilities, Samsung said, adding that it has been collaborating with the startup since 2018.
Samsung notes that the graphs provided by these tools integrate information and context across multiple services and apps, allowing Samsung to create a user experience that is tailored to users by becoming increasingly familiar with their preferences and usage patterns. The South Korean tech giant says it plans to apply the tool across its mobile devices, TVs, and home appliances.
The launch of Galaxy AI has provided a much-needed sales boost for the Galaxy S series in Samsung’s latest offering, as smartphone hardware innovations have hit a plateau that has hampered growth in the premium segment in recent years. AI could be a new growth driver, so Samsung is looking to further improve Galaxy AI.
Also: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs Z Fold 5: Which premium model should you buy?
But while AI is indeed pervasive, what kind of business model companies can find from it remains an open question. Subscriptions are one possibility, but Samsung would need to justify that with content and services. Additionally, improving AI inevitably requires data collection, which raises privacy concerns. On-device AI, by processing data on the device end rather than through the cloud, has been proposed as a solution to that concern. And who offers more devices than Samsung?
