LG Electronics (LG) announced January 24 it has taken a significant step in advancing its robotics capabilities by securing a majority stake in Bear Robotics, a Silicon Valley-based startup specializing in AI-driven autonomous service robots (ASRs). The company said the acquisition aligns with its strategy to strengthen its presence in the robotics sector, a key growth area for the company.

On January 22, LG’s board of directors exercised a call option to acquire an additional 30% stake in Bear Robotics, following an initial investment of $60 million in March 2024, which secured LG a 21% stake, aggregating to a 51% stake, effectively incorporating it as a subsidiary.

Now, LG’s commercial robot business, primarily centered around LG CLOi Robots, will be integrated with Bear Robotics. Founded in 2017, Bear Robotics has developed expertise in distributed multi-robot control, remote fleet management system and AI-powered robot platform.

LG said in a statement January 24 that it aims to expand its presence in the commercial robot market through Bear Robotics. Concurrently, LG said it intends to leverage its AI and manufacturing expertise to reinforce its home and industrial robot businesses.

LG’s CEO William Cho, speaking this month at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, emphasized the importance of this investment, stating, “Robots are a certain future,” and hinted at plans to expand beyond the current focus on hospitality and logistics delivery robots to include the Self-driving AI Home Hub and other home robots to achieve a “Zero-labor Home.”