Samsung SDS has struck an equity and technology partnership with Walden Robotics, the U.S. physical AI company spun out of the Toyota Research Institute in January, as Samsung's IT-services arm pushes deeper into “robotic transformation” (RX) for manufacturing.
A June investment through Samsung Venture Investment
Samsung SDS made a strategic investment in Walden through Samsung Venture Investment in June, industry officials confirmed on 8 September. The two companies are now pursuing a “robot orchestration” business that directs different robot types through a single control network, combining Walden's robotics stack with Samsung SDS's manufacturing and systems integration capabilities. Samsung SDS is already running technical validation of Walden robots at production sites operated by Samsung Electro-Mechanics, SEMES, Samsung Heavy Industries and Samsung E&A.
Large Behavior Models on a two-armed mobile base
Walden was spun off from Toyota Research Institute in January and its founding team includes engineers from TRI, MIT, Stanford and Amazon. Co-founder and CEO Russ Tedrake, an MIT professor, led Large Behavior Model (LBM) research at TRI. Walden's robot pairs a two-armed upper body with a wheeled mobile base and is designed to handle machine operation, tool setup, parts picking, kitting and assembly. It began deploying on Toyota's North American production lines in February. In July, Walden raised $300 million at a $1.1 billion valuation in a round co-led by Toyota and Deviation Capital, with NVIDIA, Boeing and Samsung Venture Investment also participating.
Samsung joins the physical-AI arms race
The deal slots Samsung SDS alongside the day's other physical-AI headlines, including XPENG's first IRON humanoid off the Guangzhou line, LG-Nota-Mobilint's Korean-NPU humanoid consortium and Caterpillar's FieldAI Omniverse deal. Samsung SDS is expected to build on the tie-up to expand its RX business to major manufacturers at home and abroad.
Reporting based on coverage from Seoul Economic Daily, Walden Robotics, Toyota Research Institute and Samsung SDS.