Samsung SDS CEO Lee Jun-hee: “AI Changes Work, but AX Changes Business”
TECHWORLD ·
✦ AI Summary
Samsung SDS CEO Lee Jun-hee defined AX as a process of redesigning business and work methods themselves, not simply AI adoption or work efficiency improvements.
He said 88% of companies are using AI in at least one task, but only 6% of high-performing companies delivered more than 5% EBIT contribution from AI.
Samsung SDS is pursuing AX both internally and at customer sites, while also expanding AI infrastructure investment and partnerships with global companies.
Samsung SDS CEO Lee Jun-hee said a company’s AI transformation (AX) is not simply about adopting AI or improving work efficiency. In the keynote speech at the 'Real Summit 2026' in Seoul’s COEX on the 8th, Lee defined AX as a process of redesigning business and work methods themselves.
Lee said AX is a more fundamental change on a different level from the time and cost savings achieved through AI adoption. He added that AX means redesigning business and work methods from the ground up.
Lee said companies that achieve AX act proactively instead of waiting for customer requests, and respond in real time instead of analyzing the market and then reacting.
Citing a McKinsey survey, Lee said 88% of companies are using AI in at least one task. By contrast, the share of 'high-performing companies' that achieved more than 5% EBIT contribution from AI and meaningful results stood at just 6%. He said that despite the sharp rise in AI adoption, only a limited number of companies have been able to connect it to actual business results.
To implement AX, existing work processes must be redesigned, and a human-AI collaboration structure must be established. Data must be organized so AI can be used effectively, and a system for efficiently operating multiple AI agents is also needed. In addition, key elements of AX include AI behavior management policies, control systems, and security, and companies should establish governance for safe use rather than restricting AI use.
At the same time, organizational and compensation systems also need to shift in a way that encourages AI use. AX implementation should be carried out in a way that changes work structures and data, AI operating systems, policies and control, security, governance, and organizational and compensation systems together.
Samsung SDS is pursuing a 'client zero' strategy, applying AX internally first. The targets are seven mega processes: development, purchasing, quality, management support, business execution, marketing, and sales, and Samsung SDS is redesigning these seven mega processes based on AI. The company plans to verify the effects first and then expand by applying the accumulated experience to customer businesses.
Samsung SDS is driving AX by deploying FDEs to customer sites. FDEs directly participate in customer work, identify AI use cases, and support everything from work-process redesign to system construction and operation.
Samsung SDS has a foundation for collaboration with global companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Accenture, and based on that, it plans to train more than 200 AX-specialized FDEs by the end of this year. The company also introduced AX cases currently underway at GS Caltex and Dongwon Group on the day.
Samsung SDS presented a 'multidimensional AI full stack' as the foundation for its AX business. The 'multidimensional AI full stack' combines AI infrastructure, platforms, and solutions with consulting, development, implementation, and operations capabilities, as well as industry expertise.
Lee said the requirements for a true AI full stack include consulting to support AX execution and specialized capabilities in development, implementation, and operations. He added that a precise understanding of the customer’s business is also necessary.
Samsung SDS is strengthening both infrastructure and external partnerships to expand its AX business. The company continues to invest in AI infrastructure and operates the Dongtan AI data center. It is also pushing ahead with the construction of a national AI computing center and the Gumi AI data center. The Gumi AI data center is scheduled to begin operations in March 2029.
Partnerships with global AI companies are another pillar of AX business expansion. Last July, Samsung SDS signed a strategic partnership with Anthropic in San Francisco, United States. The two companies plan to combine Anthropic’s AI technology with Samsung SDS’s enterprise AX business experience, support joint proof of concept (PoC) efforts, and identify new AX businesses.
Samsung SDS is also expanding the scope of its cooperation with OpenAI. The company supports enterprises in adopting ChatGPT Enterprise and provides AX services using ChatGPT Enterprise. In addition, Samsung SDS is participating in OpenAI’s 'Daybreak Partner Program' as the first pilot partner from a Korean company.
Samsung SDS plans to use OpenAI frontier models in the Daybreak program. The goal is to detect and verify security vulnerabilities in enterprise systems. The service scope also includes proposing patch measures.
The implementation method involves Samsung SDS FDEs and security experts applying the solution at customer sites. The target is actual work and systems. Samsung SDS is also pushing to expand the scope of AX applications, with the expansion direction extending from digital work to physical areas such as manufacturing and robots.
Lee said Samsung SDS has supported manufacturing customers’ automation for 25 years. The industries supported include semiconductors, secondary batteries, bio, automobiles, materials, components, and food and beverages, and the scale of support covers more than 430 manufacturing customers. Lee said that in AX at manufacturing sites, simply introducing robots is not enough, and explained that connecting production equipment, robots, and manufacturing data into a single system, as well as improving robot work quality to a human level, are necessary conditions. He added that these conditions are what make practical robot transformation (RX) possible.
Based on data and automation experience accumulated at manufacturing sites, Samsung SDS is developing technology to operate production equipment and robots from multiple manufacturers in an integrated way. Lee said RX cannot be completed with robots alone.
This trend leads to the company’s plan to unveil a robot orchestration platform in 2027. The platform will be able to connect and control robots and production equipment from different manufacturers in a single environment, and its goal is to link factory-wide operations and equipment beyond the introduction of individual robots.
Samsung SDS is also expanding partnerships to secure physical AI technology. The company has signed a strategic partnership with Walden Robotics and is also working with Rainbow Robotics and others. The aim of these partnerships is to secure technologies and use cases that can be applied in manufacturing sites.
Lee said business environments differ from company to company, and AX challenges also vary. He added that the company is expanding partnerships with global firms to provide the optimal AI solutions for each company’s situation.
Source: TECHWORLD · Kim Seung-gi
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=406676
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Source: TECHWORLD
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