LG Electronics has overhauled its operating structure for its physical AI-based robotics business. LG Electronics said on Monday it will implement an organisational reshuffle effective July 1 to set up a Robotics Business Center reporting directly to the CEO. It brought together core capabilities needed for commercialisation in one organisation, from identifying business opportunities to operations such as supply chain and manufacturing.

The reshuffle comes four months ahead of the year-end regular organisational reshuffle. The new center will be run as an end-to-end business organisation equipped with business development, sales and operations functions. The organisation will be led by Center Head Si-yong Song (송시용), who previously served at the Production Engineering Research Institute as head of manufacturing capability enhancement, head of production system solutions and head of the Smart Factory Solution Center. The company said the move reflects the strategic importance of the robotics business and its commitment to fostering it.

A dedicated organisation for a robot training data factory will also be established under the new center. A data factory is a facility that generates and accumulates data so robots can learn in various environments and tasks. LG Electronics plans to use high-quality data secured through operating the data factory to advance RFM, its robot foundation model, to create business synergies.

LG Electronics said it expects the reshuffle to streamline decision-making and speed up the pace of business strategy planning and execution, in-house development of core technologies and securing cost competitiveness. It also expects that, with the robotics business run as an end-to-end organisation, collaboration with affiliates such as LG CNS and LG AI Research and the expansion of partnerships with global big tech companies will become easier.

It also plans to add household robots from the Robotics Business Center to the industrial and commercial robots handled by subsidiaries Robostar and Bear Robotics to target the market across the board. It plans to become a comprehensive robotics solution company spanning finished robots, its actuator business as a key component and the data factory.

At its Yangjae R&D Campus in Seocho-gu, Seoul, it is building a large-scale data factory with the aim of starting operations within the year. For actuators, it will pursue both domestic in-house production and external supply based on motor technology accumulated for more than 60 years.