Samsung Electronics has made a surprise acquisition of Harman, an American automotive electronics specialist, to launch its new growth sector, the automotive electronics business, and to strengthen its audio business.

The total acquisition amount reaches 9.4 trillion won (8 billion dollars), making it the largest overseas M&A deal in history by a South Korean company. Harman generates 65% of its revenue from the automotive electronics business, and is a global leader in the field, particularly in its connected car and car audio businesses, which hold an order backlog of 24 billion dollars—approximately six times its annual revenue. Samsung has instantly seized the industry's leading position, boasting the number one market share in premium infotainment (24%), second place in overall infotainment (10%), and second place in telematics (10%).

Samsung Electronics acquired VIV Labs Inc. (hereinafter 'VIV'), an artificial intelligence (AI) platform development company based in Silicon Valley, USA, on October 6.

Since declaring its full-scale entry into the automotive electronics business last year, Samsung has been actively reorganizing its structure and acquiring companies to secure related technologies. Last September, the company sold its printer business and began reorganizing its business operations, including negotiating the sale of its PC division.

As Samsung expands its automotive electronics business, ranging from semiconductors to infotainment and artificial intelligence, what kind of future car is it envisioning? The outline will soon become clear.

The photo shows Samsung Electronics President of Strategic Innovation Center (SSIC) Son Young-kwon (left), Harman CEO Dinesh Paliwal (center), and Samsung Electronics Automotive Business Team Vice President Park Jong-hwan (right) shaking hands to solidify their cooperation during a media briefing held at Samsung Electronics' Seocho headquarters on the 21st.