Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center

In February 2013, Samsung announced it was establishing the Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center to create a "global engine to accelerate innovation and to drive new business creation."^[8][9] As part of that effort, Samsung also launched the Samsung Catalyst Fund, a multi-stage venture capital fund that operates with SSIC to expand Samsung's mobile, device solutions and consumer electronics groups.^[10] Young Sohn, Samsung's president and chief strategy officer, was appointed to lead SSIC at the time of its founding.^[11]

In 2014, SSIC launched the Smart Health Initiative and announced a health technology platform, Simband. It is a wearable digital health device with a custom sensor module that developers use to design digital health algorithms, analyze real-time health data, and connect to a data exchange platform.^[12] In 2015, SSIC announced the Samsung ARTIK platform for IoT applications,^[13] and the Samsung ARTIK Challenge, which invited contestants to develop technology to reduce global water consumption.^[14] In 2016, SSIC partnered with Nestlé's Institute of Health Sciences on IoT and nutrition science to develop applications for personalized fitness and nutrition data.^[15]

In 2017, SSIC helped secure the $8 billion acquisition of Harman International Industries. Young Sohn was appointed Chairman of the Harman board of directors upon the acquisition's completion.^[16][17] That same year, SSIC established the $300 million Samsung Automotive Innovation Fund to invest in the automotive sector.^[18]

In 2018, SSIC introduced Samsung DRVLINE, an open, modular, and scalable autonomous vehicle platform.^[19] Samsung decided in 2018 to shut down the ARTIK business that had been started by SSIC in 2015.^[20]

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