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Samsung NEXT’s Q Fund is invest in early stage AI startups taking on Grand Challenges.
Samsung NEXT’s Q Fund operates as an early-stage venture fund, investing in artificial intelligence startups. It targets companies addressing complex AI challenges and those leveraging AI to advance computer science problems. The fund provides seed and Series A financing, fostering innovation within the AI ecosystem by supporting nascent technologies that expand capabilities.
The Q Fund was established by Samsung NEXT Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of the Samsung Group. Launched in 2018, the initiative arose from the insight that AI's potential demands investment in foundational advancements. Samsung NEXT recognized the need to cultivate the next generation of AI-focused startups, supporting ventures poised to redefine technology.
The fund's investments benefit early-stage AI startups creating innovative solutions. Samsung NEXT envisions the Q Fund driving artificial intelligence's evolution by empowering companies defining the field's future. It seeks to catalyze AI breakthroughs, ultimately integrating these innovations into broader technological ecosystems.
Samsung NEXT’s Q Fund is an early-stage venture initiative focused on investing in startups tackling foundational challenges in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. Its mission is to accelerate the development of transformative AI technologies by supporting innovators who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible—especially those working on “AI Grand Challenges” that have historically resisted conventional approaches. The fund prioritizes technical depth and novel research over short-term revenue models, seeking out startups that are redefining the future of AI, from learning in simulation and intuitive physics to robot control and meta-learning.
Q Fund operates as part of Samsung NEXT, which itself is dedicated to fostering innovation at the intersection of software, services, and Samsung’s global ecosystem. By providing seed and Series A financing, Q Fund helps startups build the next generation of AI-driven solutions, with a particular emphasis on companies that are not just applying AI, but fundamentally advancing it. Its investments have already included notable names like Covariant AI and Vicarious, both of which are pioneering new approaches to robotics and machine learning.
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Launched in 2018, the Q Fund emerged from Samsung NEXT’s broader strategy to deepen its engagement with the AI startup ecosystem. Samsung NEXT, originally founded in 2013 as the Samsung Global Innovation Center, had already established a $150 million fund in 2017 to support early-stage startups in emerging tech fields, including AI, IoT, and virtual reality. The Q Fund was created as a specialized offshoot, designed to focus exclusively on the most ambitious and technically challenging AI problems.
The fund’s name “Q” is inspired by the concept in machine learning of maximizing the “quality” (Q) of actions in complex, uncertain environments—a nod to its focus on deep technical innovation. The Q Fund was spearheaded by Samsung NEXT Ventures, with leadership from figures like Vincent Tang and Ajay Singh, who emphasized the importance of backing teams with novel research and a long-term vision for AI’s evolution.
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The Q Fund is riding the wave of a fundamental shift in technology: the transition from software-driven systems to AI-driven systems. As AI begins to “eat software,” the need for foundational advances in machine learning, robotics, and human-computer interaction has never been greater. Q Fund is positioned at the forefront of this transformation, supporting startups that are not just building AI applications, but redefining the underlying technologies.
The timing is critical. With AI now central to everything from consumer electronics to industrial automation, the startups Q Fund backs are shaping the future of how machines learn, interact, and adapt. By focusing on non-obvious, forward-thinking ideas, the fund is helping to ensure that the next generation of AI is not just incremental, but revolutionary.
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The Q Fund is likely to remain a key player in the AI startup ecosystem, especially as the demand for foundational AI research grows. As AI becomes more embedded in everyday products and services, the startups that Q Fund supports will play an increasingly important role in shaping the future of technology. The fund’s emphasis on technical depth and long-term vision positions it well to identify and nurture the next wave of AI breakthroughs.
Looking ahead, Q Fund may expand its focus to include emerging areas like AI for healthcare, autonomous systems, and ethical AI, while continuing to back the most ambitious and unconventional ideas in the field. As AI continues to evolve, the Q Fund’s influence will likely grow, helping to ensure that Samsung remains at the cutting edge of technological innovation.
In a world where AI is rapidly transforming every industry, the Q Fund is not just investing in startups—it’s investing in the future of intelligence itself.