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Samsung Electronics CEO wants to build an 'AI-driven company'

Samsung Electronics plans to ramp up its on-device AI business, with the aim of exceeding global market growth in the consumer electronics segment this year.

The global consumer electronics market for smartphone, TV and home appliances will grow roughly 3% in 2025, Jong-Hee Han, chief executive officer of Samsung Electronics, told CNBC’s Chery Kang.

Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone and TV maker, expects its mobile devices business to grow by 4%-5% this year, while growth in TV and home appliances unit is also likely to accelerate, said Han, also the head of device eExperience (DX) division of Samsung Electronics.

Samsung Electronics has been ramping up efforts to connect its devices to artificial intelligence, installing AI chips in its fridges, washing machines and robot vacuum cleaners.

It has also been bolstering its AI functions on its premium flagship smartphone models, such as the Galaxy S24 series, which has multiple AI-enabled features including real-time translation of certain foreign language phone calls.

This comes as Chinese brands such as Huawei and Xiaomi have emerged as serious competitors to Samsung by offering high-end smartphones at significantly lower prices.

Competition from Chinese companies is ‘helpful” for Samsung and the consumers, Han said during the interview, noting that the company aims to differentiate its products with more security and convenience, rather than lowering prices.

AI chip delays

Samsung announced a major leadership reshuffle in November, putting Jun Young-hyun as co-CEO and head of the memory chip arm, sharing leadership duties with Han.

The South Korean tech giant, once the dominant force in the memory chip sector, has fallen behind SK Hynix in the race to supply high bandwidth memory chips, or HBM chips, that are a key component for AI leader Nvidia.

Samsung Electronics CEO says competition with China is 'helpful'

Samsung will reportedly issue its fourth-quarter revenue and operating profit forecasts on Wednesday, before releasing quarterly results in late January.

Samsung operating profit for the December quarter is expected to come in at 8.2 trillion won ($5.6 billion), according to Reuters estimates, a notable uptick from 2.8 trillion won it reported a year earlier, but down from 9.18 trillion won in the prior quarter.

In October, Jun, the semiconductor division head, issued a rare apology for the company’s disappointing third-quarter performance.

Last year, shares of the South Korean giant plunged 32%, according to LSEG data, lagging the broader benchmark Kospi’s 9.6% loss.

Samsung expects first-quarter profit to soar 931% as memory chip prices rebound

The share price has “never been this low before,” Han said during the interview, adding that the company has “value-up” plan, aimed at increasing shareholders’ returns. The plan will be announced “one by one when it’s in order,” he said, according to a CNBC translation of his statement in Korean.

Investors are hoping for Samsung to close the gap on HBM and get more serious about its “value-up” scheme, Phillip Wool, head of research at Rayliant Global Advisors said in a note Monday, while adding that the 10-trillion won share buyback plan may help stabilize the stock’s price.

The company unveiled a surprise plan in November to buy back about 10 trillion won worth of shares over the following 12 months.

Peter Lee, an analyst at Citi, cautioned in a note on Dec. 31, that a longer-than-expected delay in getting Nvidia’s approval for its HBM chips and weaker PC sales could continue to pose downside risks. He maintained a “buy” rating on the stock while trimming its target price to 83,000 won from 87,000 won.

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As nations build ‘sovereign AI,’ open-source models and cloud computing can help, experts say

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As nations build 'sovereign AI,' open-source models and cloud computing can help, experts say

Digital illustration of a glowing world map with “AI” text across multiple continents, representing the global presence and integration of artificial intelligence.

Fotograzia | Moment | Getty Images

As artificial intelligence becomes more democratized, it is important for emerging economies to build their own “sovereign AI,” panelists told CNBC’s East Tech West conference in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday.

In general, sovereign AI refers to a nation’s ability to control its own AI technologies, data and related infrastructure, ensuring strategic autonomy while meeting its unique priorities and security needs.

However, this sovereignty has been lacking, according to panelist Kasima Tharnpipitchai, head of AI strategy at SCB 10X, the technology investment arm of Thailand-based SCBX Group. He noted that many of the world’s most prominent large language models, operated by companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI, are based on the English language.

“The way you think, the way you interact with the world, the way you are when you speak another language can be very different,” Tharnpipitchai said. 

It is, therefore, important for countries to take ownership of their AI systems, developing technology for specific languages, cultures, and countries, rather than just translating over English-based models. 

Sovereign AI rises as governments become power brokers

Panelists agreed that the digitally savvy ASEAN region, with a total population of nearly 700 million people, is particularly well positioned to build its sovereign AI. People under the age of 35 make up around 61% of the population, and about 125,000 new users gain access to the internet daily.

Given this context, Jeff Johnson, managing director of ASEAN at Amazon Web Services, said, “I  think it’s really important, and we’re really focused on how we can really democratize access to cloud and AI.”

Open-source models 

According to panelists, one key way that countries can build up their sovereign AI environments is through the use of open-source AI models. 

“There is plenty of amazing talent here in Southeast Asia and in Thailand, especially. To have that captured in a way that isn’t publicly accessible or ecosystem developing would feel like a shame,” said SCB 10X’s Tharnpipitchai. 

Doing open-source is a way to create a “collective energy” to help Thailand better compete in AI and push sovereignty in a way that is beneficial for the entire country, he added. 

Access to computing 

Open-source AI will have a massive impact on the world, says Hugging Face CEO

“We’re here in Thailand and across Southeast Asia to support all industries, all businesses of all shapes and sizes, from the smallest startup to the largest enterprise,” said AWS’s Johnson. 

He added that the economic model of the company’s cloud services makes it easy to “pay for what you use,” thus lowering the barriers to entry and making it very easy to build models and applications. 

In April, the U.N. Trade and Development Agency said in a report that AI was projected to reach $4.8 trillion in market value by 2033. However, it warned that the technology’s benefits remain highly concentrated, with nations at risk of lagging behind. 

Among UNCTAD’s recommendations to the international community for driving inclusive growth was shared AI infrastructure, the use of open-source AI models and initiatives to share AI knowledge and resources.

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Amazon CEO Jassy says AI will lead to ‘fewer people doing some of the jobs’ that get automated

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Amazon CEO Jassy says AI will lead to 'fewer people doing some of the jobs' that get automated

AI will change the workforce, says Amazon CEO Andy Jassy

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the rapid rollout of generative artificial intelligence means the company will one day require fewer employees to do some of the work that computers can handle.

“Like with every technical transformation, there will be fewer people doing some of the jobs that the technology actually starts to automate,” Jassy told CNBC’s Jim Cramer in an interview on Monday. “But there’s going to be other jobs.”

Even as AI eliminates the need for some roles, Amazon will continue to hire more employees in AI, robotics and elsewhere, Jassy said.

Earlier this month, Jassy admitted that he expects the company’s workforce to decline in the next few years as Amazon embraces generative AI and AI-powered software agents. He told staffers in a memo that it will be “hard to know exactly where this nets out over time” but that the corporate workforce will shrink as Amazon wrings more efficiencies out of the technology.

It’s a message that’s making its way across the tech sector. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff last week claimed AI is doing 30% to 50% of the work at his software vendor. Other companies such as Shopify and Microsoft have urged employees to adopt the technology in their daily work. The CEO of Klarna said in May that the online lender has managed to shrink its headcount by about 40%, in part due to investments in AI and natural attrition in its workforce.

Jassy said on Monday that AI will free employees from “rote work” and “make all our jobs more interesting,” while enabling staffers to invent better services more quickly than before.

Amazon and other tech companies have also been shrinking their workforces through rolling layoffs over the past several years. Amazon has cut more than 27,000 jobs since the start of 2022, and it’s announced smaller, more targeted layoffs in its retail and devices units in recent months.

Amazon shares are flat so far this year, underperforming the Nasdaq, which has gained 5.5%. The stock is about 10% below its record reached in February, while fellow megacaps Meta, Microsoft and Nvidia are all trading at or very near record highs.

WATCH: Jassy says robots that will eventually do delivery and transportation

Over time we will have robots that will do delivery and transportation, says Amazon CEO Andy Jassy

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Stablecoin issuer Circle applies for a national bank charter

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Stablecoin issuer Circle applies for a national bank charter

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), on the day of Circle Internet Group’s IPO, in New York City, U.S., June 5, 2025.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group has applied for a national trust bank charter, moving forward on its mission to bring stablecoins into the traditional financial world after the firm’s big market debut this month, CNBC confirmed.

Shares rose 1% after hours.

If the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency grants the bank charter, Circle will establish the First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A. Under the charter, Circle, which issues the USDC stablecoin, will also be able to offer custody services in the future to institutional clients for assets, which could include representations of stocks and bonds on a blockchain network.

Reuters first reported on Circle’s bank charter application.

There are no plans to change the management of Circle’s USDC reserves, which are currently held with other major banks.

Anchorage Digital is the only other crypto company to obtain such a license.

Circle’s move comes after a wildly successful IPO and debut trading month on the public markets. Shares of the company are up 484% in June. The company is also benefiting from a wave of optimism after the Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Act, which would give the U.S. a regulatory framework for stablecoins.

Having a federally regulated trust charter would also help Circle meet requirements under the GENIUS Act.

“Establishing a national digital currency trust bank of this kind marks a significant milestone in our goal to build an internet financial system that is transparent, efficient and accessible,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a statement shared with CNBC. “By applying for a national trust charter, Circle is taking proactive steps to further strengthen our USDC infrastructure.”

“Further, we will align with emerging U.S. regulation for the issuance and operation of dollar-denominated payment stablecoins, which we believe can enhance the reach and resilience of the U.S. dollar, and support the development of crucial, market neutral infrastructure for the world’s leading institutions to build on,” he said.

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