Artificial Intelligence-powered and internet-connected smart appliances would contribute 70 per cent to India sales of Samsung, a top official of the leading appliances and consumer electronics goods maker said.

Encouraged by the rising adoption of AI-powered devices in India, the company is adding more AI-powered products to its portfolio of appliances such as washing machines, refrigerators, microwaves and residential air conditioners.

There is an increasing trend and people are seeing value while buying these connected appliances, said Samsung India Senior Director, Digital Appliances Saurabh Baishakhia.

Earlier it was limited to just one category but now with the launch of a new ‘Bespoke’ range of AI-powered products, Samsung is aggressively extending this technology to several other categories, he said.

“We are looking at having 70 per cent of our sales by 2025 through AI-powered appliances,” said Baishakhia.

From quarter to quarter, Samsung is taking this AI technology to all of its appliances, he said adding this would also increase the company’s share in the fast-growing premium appliances segment.

“People are ready to pay a premium for these products. Affordability is not a question now,” said Baishakhia, adding “We are very confident” and it is a “doable” target.

Around 25-30 per cent of Samsung India sales come from connected smart range of appliances currently, he said.

According to ROC filings, in FY23 Samsung India’s total revenue was Rs 98,924.40 crore, in which its appliances’ share was Rs 11,844 crore and a large portion was from its mobile phone business.

 

Samsung on Wednesday introduced a ‘Bespoke’ range of appliances, which are powered by AI, demonstrating the future of connected and sustainable homes.

Bespoke appliances in India have products including refrigerators, ACs, microwave and washing machine, which are now powered by AI.

These products would be manufactured in India, he added.

Samsung Southwest Asia President & CEO JB Park said Bespoke AI, is the next big innovation in home appliances which will ensure smarter living for Indian homes and reduce energy consumption, contributing to a greener planet.

“With the transformative power of AI, we are confident that Bespoke AI will strengthen our leadership in the digital appliances market in India,” he said.

Most of the tech features of the AI for the appliances business are developed in India by Samsung at its three R&D centres – one in Bengaluru and two at Delhi NCR, said Samsung Research India Bengaluru Managing Director Dipesh Shah.

“Both at Delhi and Bengaluru, there are several engineers who are working on AI features for the Indian market,” he said adding products are developed “by understanding the Indian consumers’ needs here.

These Bespoke appliances through AI algorithms based on usage patterns also help in saving energy and reducing CO2.

“AI Energy mode can give up to 10 per cent energy savings in refrigerators, up to 20 per cent in Air conditioners and up to 70 per cent in washing machines,” Samsung claimed.

 

When asked whether Samsung will have a preferred network partner for its internet-connected AI devices working on cloud computing, as in some other global markets, he said it will work on available wifi systems.

Moreover, every Bespoke product will be secured from Knox security solution and whenever their operating system is updated, there will be no compromises on data privacy.

“The company has something called Knox Matrix in which every device on the network gets to know the security status of each item. If any device gets compromised, the other devices on the platform can inform about the breach,” he said.

All Samsung’s Bespoke AI appliances will also have Bixby AI Voice Assistant feature.

First Published: Apr 03 2024 | 4:43 PM IST