"With the AI Supply Chain Taking Shape, How Will This Year's M&A Market Respond?"

Samil PwC to Hold Annual Seminar
Outlook for This Year’s M&A Market Amid AI Supply Chain Formation

As an artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain spanning power, semiconductors, data, software, and hardware takes shape, large-scale investments are expanding and demand for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is also increasing. A seminar hosted by Samil PwC will be held to discuss strategies to prepare for this trend.

On the 19th, Samil PwC announced that it will hold its annual seminar on March 18 at its headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, under the theme of "AI Supply Chain and 2026 M&A Market Outlook."

As AI breaks down boundaries between industries and accelerates convergence across diverse areas such as technology, manufacturing, and energy, M&A is emerging not as a simple means of scaling up, but as a strategic choice to prepare for the AI supply chain. Samil PwC intends to present its outlook for this year's M&A market amid these changes and to address in concrete terms the strategic challenges facing domestic companies and investors.

The seminar will be structured around three main pillars: (1) economic and M&A outlook, (2) shifts in perspectives of institutional investors and policy finance, and (3) analysis of growth industries in the era of AI and humanoids.

In the first session, Jung Kyungsoo, Head of the M&A Center at Samil PwC, and Choi Jaeyoung, Head of the Management Research Institute, will present their outlook for domestic and global M&A markets and the economic environment in 2026. They plan to analyze how changes in interest rates, policy, and industrial structure affect transactions.

The second session will focus on changes in investor perspectives. The Samil PwC Governance Center will introduce this year's M&A trends as viewed by institutional investors, and Lee Jung, Team Leader at Korea Development Bank (KDB), will give a presentation on the investment direction of the National Growth Fund and the role of policy finance.

The third session will focus on industrial restructuring in the era of AI and humanoids. Presentations will include: (1) "The Present and Future of the Korean-Style Data Center Industry" by Seo Yongtae, Infrastructure and Energy Sector Leader (Partner) at Samil PwC; (2) "Exploring Investment Opportunities in New Energy and Power Infrastructure at Home and Abroad" by Han Jungtak, Energy Transition Platform Leader (Partner); (3) "New Growth Opportunities in the Physical AI Ecosystem" by Hong Seunghwan, Physical AI Sector Leader (Partner); and (4) "Secondary Batteries at an Inflection Point" by Cho Hanjun, Secondary Battery Sector Leader (Partner).

Applications to attend the seminar can be submitted through the Samil PwC website. Detailed guidance regarding participation will be provided individually to those who pre-register.

Min Junsun, Head of Deals at Samil PwC, who planned this seminar, said, "This year's M&A market will be energized around the theme of companies and private equity firms seeking their roles in the formation of a new AI supply chain," adding, "We hope this seminar will provide companies and investors with the insights they need to forecast the future and design strategic growth paths amid the great AI transformation."