Samsung Electronics Makes Strategic Investment in US DNA Analysis Equipment Company

Investment in Element Bioscience
Expecting Synergy in Medical Devices, Digital Health, and AI

Samsung Electronics announced on the 12th that it will participate as a strategic investor in the U.S. DNA analysis equipment company 'Element Biosciences (Element).' It joined the recent $277 million (approximately 380 billion KRW) Series D investment round raised by Element.

Founded in 2017 in San Diego, USA, Element is a company that possesses 'DNA sequencing' technology with industry-leading accuracy at a low cost. In 2022, it launched the mid-sized DNA sequencing device 'AVITI' and is expanding its global market presence while developing new technologies.

'DNA sequencing' is a technology that reads the sequence of bases that make up DNA, which can be considered the blueprint of living organisms, to identify genetic variations and characteristics. The genomic information obtained through DNA sequencing is a foundational technology that can be widely used in future precision medicine, including ▲understanding innate genetic traits and predicting diseases in advance ▲early detection and monitoring of diseases based on genetic mutations ▲development of personalized treatments according to diseases, and is expected to have very high growth potential in the long term.

In the future, DNA sequencing data will be combined with clinical data from hospitals and daily life data such as sleep and exercise, enabling personalized medical services, the ultimate future of healthcare.

Through this investment, Element will be able to leverage Samsung Electronics' artificial intelligence (AI) and IT technologies to further improve the accuracy of DNA sequencing and reduce costs, expecting various business synergies in the future data-driven precision medicine research field.

Samsung Electronics plans to explore new business opportunities across a wide range of fields from medical devices to digital health by integrating Element's DNA analysis technology based on its AI capabilities, medical devices, and digital health technologies, and expects new areas of cooperation between the two companies to be discovered.

Han Jong-hee, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics, said, "Element Biosciences is leading next-generation innovation in biology, the foundation of precision medicine and AI, setting new industry standards," and added, "Element is realizing its vision of providing precision medicine at a reasonable cost."