Samsung launches new AI fund, NEXT Q

Samsung has launched a new fund focusing on AI technology and startups, the South Korean tech giant announced this week.

The fund will be called the NEXT Q Fund and will provide capital to startups “solving AI” and “solving computer problems with AI. Samsung Next has stated: “The more esoteric, exotic and eccentric the approach, the better the fit.”

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An amount for the fund has yet to be disclosed but it will invest from Samsung’s $150mn US Next Fund, which focuses on “early state companies in emerging tech verticals”, according to TechCrunch.

In a statement, Vincent Tang of Samsung Next Venture said: “For the past 10 years, we’ve watched software eat the world. Now, it’s AI’s turn to eat software. We’re launching Q Fund to support the next generation of AI startups who look to scratch beyond the surface of what we know today.”