What have we here?
Mercedes-Benz meeting with Samsung Electronics and LG Group to talk next-gen AI-defined vehicles definitely caught my attention and it could have some interesting future implications for BrainChip, given our existing association with Mercedes.
The talks covered a wide sweep of vehicle electronics including batteries, displays, sensors, semiconductors, components, and the whole software-defined, AI vehicle stack.
If Mercedes is broadening partnership scope (i.e. not just displays and infotainment, but AI, sensors and software as well), then there could be room for BrainChip to move from pilot to a more strategic function like always-on cabin monitoring, anomaly detection, sensor layer, low-power standby intelligence.
The meeting with Samsung and LG suggests Mercedes is open to multiple supply chain and technology partners, which, with any luck, might open the door for BrainChip to be one of the tiered AI-tech partners across Mercedes’ next wave of AI-defined vehicles and potentially even across the ecosystems of Samsung and LG in the longer run.
My opinion only.
Mercedes meets with Samsung and LG for next-gen AI vehicles
Published: 13 Nov. 2025, 19:10
Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong speaks at the APEC CEO Summit held in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Oct. 31. [YONHAP]
Ola Kallenius, chairman of Mercedes-Benz, met with senior executives from both Samsung and LG during his visit to Korea this week, signaling an effort to expand cooperation beyond electronic components into next-generation AI-defined vehicles (ADV).
Kallenius held a private dinner on Thursday with Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong at the Samsung Guest House in Hannam-dong, central Seoul. The meeting was also attended by Samsung SDI CEO Choi Yoon-ho and Harman CEO Christian Sobottka. While Samsung and Mercedes-Benz already collaborate through Harman on infotainment systems, digital keys and in-car audio, they have yet to establish a supply relationship for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, in contrast to Samsung SDI supplying those for BMW and Audi.
“Considering the global network that Chairman Lee has established, along with the technological advancement by Samsung SDI, this meeting could serve as the missing piece of the puzzle in the collaboration between the two companies,” said an industry insider.
Lee has positioned batteries and automotive electric parts as core growth drivers for Samsung. The company designated EV batteries as a future business in 2010 and acquired Harman for 9 trillion won ($6 billion) in 2016 to expand into automotive electronics. In 2018, Samsung named electronics components alongside AI as one of its four key growth sectors, and restructured its internal teams last year to centralize its Harman-based strategy.
Kallenius’s first official stop in Korea was LG in western Seoul's Yeouido, where both sides announced plans to expand cooperation from the existing concept of Software Defined Vehicles (SDV) to ADVs, signaling a shared goal of developing “smarter cars.”
“At a time when the shift to the ADV era is accelerating, LG — with its complete mobility value chain — can collaborate with Mercedes-Benz across various sectors,” said LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan during their meeting at LG Twin Towers in Yeouido. “I expect major deals in AI-powered automotive components and batteries.”
Mercedes-Benz Chairman Ola Kallenius and LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan answer questions from reporters at the LG Twin Towers building in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Nov. 13, 2025. [NEWS1]
Mercedes-Benz Chairman Ola Kallenius is welcomed by staff members at the LG Twin Towers building in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Nov. 13. [YONHAP]
Joining Cho at the meeting were top executives from LG’s other affiliates: Jeong Cheol-dong, CEO of LG Display; Kim Dong-myung, CEO of LG Energy Solution; and Moon Hyuk-soo, CEO of LG Innotek. The group reportedly presented a unified “One LG Solution,” which bundles infotainment, Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), batteries, vehicle displays and autonomous driving sensors, emphasizing alignment with Mercedes-Benz’s next-generation technology road map.
The two companies have maintained a wide-ranging partnership for more than 20 years, beginning with LG’s supply of automotive displays to Mercedes-Benz in 2004. During Thursday's visit, Källenius applauded LG as the go-to partner for Mercedes-Benz and a rare company with both technological breadth and depth in fields like SDV, AI and batteries.
The high-level meetings with both Samsung and LG come amid structural changes in the manufacturing sector. As the automotive industry transitions to EVs, cars are evolving into “wheeled electronics,” with the number of electronic components per vehicle increasing several-fold compared to internal combustion engines.
“In a climate where growth in traditional consumer electronics like home appliances and smartphones is slowing, future vehicle electronics is one of the few new sectors where existing manufacturing strengths can be directly applied,” said an industry source. Korea is one of the few countries with core technologies across semiconductors, displays and batteries — all of which are essential to vehicle electronics — and combining these with automotive production is expected to create high added value.
Kallenius also held a separate meeting with Hyosung Group Vice Chairman Cho Hyun-sang. HS Hyosung The Class, an affiliate of the group, is an official Mercedes-Benz dealership in Korea. The two reportedly discussed potential collaboration across mobility and ways to expand the dealer network.
Ola Kallenius, chairman of Mercedes-Benz, met with senior executives from both Samsung and LG during his visit to Korea this week, signaling an effort to expand cooperation beyond electronic components into next-generation AI-defined vehicles (ADV).
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