Cambridge’s growing status as Europe’s leading Artificial Intelligence hub was underlined today as Korean owned Samsung Electronics UK revealed it was opening an AI research hothouse in the city.

Some 150 new jobs will be created by the move to add to the 250 staff Samsung already employs in the UK, including at its existing St John’s Innovation Park base.

The former director of Microsoft Research’s Cambridge Laboratory – Professor Andrew Blake – will chair the venture but Samsung has not revealed the location for the R & D lab.

Prof. Blake is a pioneer in the development of the theory and algorithms that can make it possible for computers to behave as seeing machines.

Samsung says the world-class institute will open up new opportunities for fundamental research in artificial intelligence and enable greater cooperation with the UK’s academic community on the development of advanced technologies. 

It says the venture – one of several in the company’s global network of AI research – will reinforce its position as a leader in the field and “bring significant future benefits to the UK’s economy and society.”

Seunghwan Cho, executive VP of Samsung Electronics, said: “This new artificial intelligence research centre in Cambridge is one of the key milestones in the long-term strategy of the company. 

“In this new world of connected devices and services based on AI, Samsung’s vision is to help people do their jobs and live their lives better. We enable a physical connection between people and information, finding new ways of working together to develop more human-centred technology that serves the needs of users first.”

The Cambridge area is a global epicentre of machine learning and one of the world’s foremost hubs for AI research and development, home not only to world-class talent but also some of the most well-renowned AI scholars with whom we will cooperate closely. 

The intended outcomes of this centre’s work will in future make a substantial impact on the development of the UK’s digital economy, as well as help contribute to global technological breakthroughs. 

Professor Blake said: “This new centre signifies Samsung’s commitment to the advancement of AI. The centre’s research will help us to better understand human behaviour, exploring areas like emotion recognition, and further expand the boundaries of user-centric communication to develop AI technologies that ultimately improve people’s lives.”

AI is a lynchpin of the Government’s plans to leverage the power of new-wave technologies for the benefit of the UK economy and No.10 was suitably excited by Samsung’s increased commitment to this country.

Prime Minister Theresa May said: “Today’s announcement by Samsung will create high-paying, high-skilled jobs and our modern Industrial Strategy will encourage further investment like this all around the country. 

“It is a vote of confidence in the UK as a world leader in artificial intelligence, and the new AI research centre will benefit from the world-renowned talent and academic prowess of Cambridge.” 

Samsung plans to implement the results of its global network of AI research centres – including Cambridge – by building an open ecosystem of devices leveraging user-oriented AI to bring value back to users.

• PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: Professor Andrew Blake