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The latest start-ups to spin out of Samsung’s C-Lab include a smart study note service and a window-shaped device that produces artificial sunlight.
Today (18 May), Samsung announced its plans to support five start-ups that were created by the company’s employees as part of the C-Labs Inside in-house incubation programme.
Samsung first ran the incubator in December 2012, as a way of nurturing employees’ ideas while attempting to instil a company culture with an emphasis on creativity. C-Labs Inside supports the development of ideas from all areas of Samsung’s business.
In 2015, the company began supporting C-Lab projects that demonstrate market potential, while facilitating their launch as start-ups under the C-Lab spin-off policy.
Samsung’s latest spin-outs
Through the programme, Samsung provides the start-ups with the investment and consultation needed to help them grow, providing a five-year window in which employees can return to their jobs if their project is unsuccessful.
Since the programme began, 163 employees have established 45 start-ups, which have collectively raised $45m.
The five new start-ups Samsung is backing are:
- Blockbuster, a video editing application that enables content creators to easily apply computer graphics and 3D effects to videos with their smartphones
- Hyler, a smart highlighter that allows analogue text to be digitised and transferred to mobile devices, allowing users to easily collect information and interact with it through an app
- Haxby, a smart study note service that records incorrect answers from workbooks and recommends worksheets based on the learner’s ability level using an AI algorithm
- SunnyFive, a window-shaped lighting device that produces artificial sunlight, allowing users to enjoy the full spectrum of light produced by the sun’s natural passage through the sky if they are indoors or in low-lit places
- RootSensor, which records daily UV exposure and can be integrated into wearable devices, smart cars and smart buildings, providing a monitoring system for accumulated UV exposure and information on skin health
Samsung’s vice-president and head of the creativity and innovation centre at Samsung Electronics, Inkuk Hahn, said that the the incubator programme “illustrates Samsung’s commitment to investing in employee-driven innovation”.
“Going forward, we will continue working to unlock Samsung employees’ potential for creative innovation while encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit,” Hahn said.
