Samsung to spend over $100b on AI chips, research in 2026

The news: Samsung Electronics said it plans to spend over 110 trillion won this year to “secure leadership in the AI semiconductor era”.

The numbers: Korea’s largest company said it would commit the funds in a corporate filing on Thursday, with the 22% increase in investment surpassing the roughly USD50 billion that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is allocating for capital expenditure in 2026.

The context: The commitment signals that Samsung is keen to wrest AI chip dominance away from SK Hynix, which has become the key provider of high-bandwidth memory to Nvidia.

The filing published Thursday also sets out Samsung’s plans to pursue M&A opportunities in future growth sectors including advanced robotics, MedTech, automotive electronics and HVAC.