Samsung beefed up its global artificial intelligence (AI) R&D capabilities with the hiring of two prominent experts who teach at universities in the US.

Sebastian Seung joins from Princeton University, where he is the Evnin professor in the Neuroscience Institute and Department of Computer Science; and Daniel Lee is the UPS Foundation chair and professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania.

Samsung said in a statement the two will play a central role in building up fundamental research on AI which will advance human knowledge with the potential for revolutionary business impact.

“Samsung is a company with a long history of pursuing innovation and is committed to tapping the full potential of artificial intelligence,” said Seung (pictured, left), who is an eminent computational neuroscientist. Before joining Princeton University in 2014, he worked as a researcher at Bell Labs and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Lee (pictured, right), an authority in AI and robotics, also worked as a researcher at Bell Labs before joining the University of Pennsylvania in 2001.

He said fundamental research and understanding of machine learning and robotic systems will be key to fulfilling the promise of AI.

Samsung explained the pair has developed various algorithms for robotics and autonomous systems modelled on the functioning of the human brain.

New R&D hubs
The new hires come just a week after Samsung announced plans to open three new AI research centres in the UK, Canada and Russia, expanding beyond existing facilities in the US and South Korea as it aims to strengthen the capabilities of its Bixby assistant.

Researchers at the new hubs in Cambridge, Toronto and Moscow will focus on a range of development areas, including core AI technologies, algorithms and advanced capabilities.