The technology firm Samsung Electronics has acquired a real-time networks analytics startup called Zhilabs which is based in Barcelona. This acquisition is expected to ease its transition from 4G to 5G technologies.
However, the financial details of the acquisition deal have not been disclosed yet. Zhilabs will be fully owned by Samsung, but it will continue to operate independently under its own management.
The acquisition of Zhilabs is part of Samsung’s initiative to invest 25 trillion won (about $22 billion) in businesses working on AI, 5G, components for self-driving vehicles, and biopharmaceutical technologies.
“5G will enable unprecedented services attributed to the generation of exponential data traffic, for which automated and intelligent network analytics tools are vital. The acquisition of Zhilabs will help Samsung meet these demands to assure each subscriber receives the best possible service,” said Youngky Kim, Samsung Electronic’s president and head of networks business.
Zhilabs was founded in 2008 and its products are used by customers including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Vodafone, and Telefonica to analyze and test network performance in real-time.
Because its solutions allow service issues to be automatically detected and fixed, Zhilabs’ AI-based automation will help Samsung launch new services related to the industrial Internet of Things and smart cars.