India is set to play a central role in Samsung’s long-term artificial intelligence strategy, with the company increasingly relying on its Indian engineering base to support both domestic needs and global technology rollouts, a senior executive said.
JB Park, President and Chief Executive Officer of Samsung Southwest Asia, said India is already functioning as a critical hub for AI-related development within the company, on par with established technology centres in the United States.
“Well, India plays a pivotal role in that development area (AI) with its brilliant engineers,” Park told The Mobile Indian. “Another area is Silicon Valley where we have Samsung Research America. But Samsung Research, Bengaluru is equal to that task in contributing to (AI) development.”
Samsung’s research presence in Bengaluru has expanded steadily over the past decade, reflecting a broader shift in the global technology industry toward software-led innovation. Park said the city is already moving in the direction of becoming a global technology nerve centre.
“So, should Bengaluru become like Silicon Valley? I think it will happen. It’s already happening with the talented resource that we source from all around India,” he said.
India currently employs more than 10,000 engineers across Samsung’s operations, with responsibilities ranging from mobile software development to advanced technology research. Park said these teams are increasingly being trained to work on AI-centric projects as software takes precedence over traditional manufacturing-led growth models.
“Yes, we have invested heavily in R&D,” he said. “We have our consumer electronics-focused R&D in Delhi, mobile R&D in Noida, while in Bengaluru, it’s more advanced technology that involves multiple category.”
According to Park, the role of these R&D centres goes beyond local product adaptation. Indian engineers are involved in upgrading software, designing system architecture and developing platforms that can be deployed both in India and across global markets.
“The role of the R&D centre is to upgrade the software, architect it and develop it in a way that it is used in the Indian market or globally,” he said.
In addition to the core engineering workforce, Samsung has around 4,000 engineers in Bengaluru focused on semiconductor architecture, highlighting India’s growing importance in deeper layers of the technology stack.
“We are transforming our engineers to be more AI-centric engineers,” Park said. “India has abundant resources and many brilliant students that are capable of global contribution through their work and we’re very proud about this.”
Samsung has also linked its long-term talent strategy to education and skills development through initiatives aimed at younger students. Park pointed to the company’s ‘Solve for Tomorrow’ corporate social responsibility programme as an example of how Samsung is attempting to build a pipeline of future engineers.
“We use the ‘Solve for Tomorrow’ CSR activity to bring the younger generation with dreams and a vision to become an engineer,” he said. “As a learning experience, we give them the opportunity of thinking about problem-solving.”
Park said Samsung’s investments span from elementary education through to college-level engagement, with the aim of encouraging students to pursue engineering careers with global relevance.
“There is a lot of investment from Samsung; from the elementary school to colleges on giving them a dream, what they are capable of and we support them to become one of the brilliant CEOs like in Microsoft and other US companies,” he said.
Looking ahead, Park said India’s role in global technology is set to expand further as the industry continues to pivot toward software and AI-driven development.
“In the 70s, 80s, it was all about manufacturing, production and efficiency, now the industry has changed into software engineering,” he said. “I think India is and will be dominating the future of software and AI engineering.”
Author: Sandeep Budki
Source: The Mobile Indian
Reviewed By: Editorial Team
