The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) of South Korea approved Samsung Electronics’ acquisition of robotics startup Rainbow Robotics on Mar. 5.

The review process, which lasted two months, found little risk of monopoly from the deal.

Samsung acquired a 35% stake in Rainbow Robotics for 86.8 billion won (US$59 million) in 2023.

This acquisition is part of Samsung’s strategy to expand into robotics technologies, particularly humanoid robots.

Founded in 2011 by researchers at KAIST’s Humanoid Robot Research Center, Rainbow Robotics developed South Korea’s first two-legged walking robot, Hubo.

Samsung intends to leverage Rainbow Robotics’ expertise along with its own AI and software capabilities to advance humanoid robot development.

Recent Samsung developments