LG Electronics is reshaping its business around enterprise customers and artificial intelligence (AI) as it seeks faster execution and more stable profits heading into 2026, company executives said Jan. 6.
Speaking at a media briefing in Las Vegas, CEO Lyu Jae-cheol said rapid technological change and intensifying competition are forcing companies to move beyond incremental improvements. It will not be enough for LG to match others’ paces, he said.
“We must move faster and execute better,” Lyu said.
He outlined a three-part strategy:
- Focusing on expanding B2B operations.
- Accelerating AI-driven processes.
- Shifting the company toward higher-margin businesses less exposed to consumer electronics cycles.
LG said B2B businesses are central to its growth plans. That includes vehicle components, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, smart factory solutions and infrastructure tied to AI.
LG Electronics reported global revenue of more than 88 trillion South Korean won, or about $65 billion, in 2024 and employs more than 75,000 people worldwide.
How LG is focusing on B2B and AI growth
The company expects its vehicle solutions unit to post its strongest annual results this year. A growing order backlog and rising demand for components used in software-defined and AI-enabled vehicles would support that.
LG is also expanding its HVAC business to serve data centers that require advanced cooling for AI computing workloads. In addition, its smart factory solutions business generated about 500 billion South Korean won, or $380 million, in orders last year. That’s just two years after LG launched the business, the company said.
Together with subscription services, software platforms such as webOS and direct-to-consumer online sales, LG said these higher-growth businesses accounted for about 45% of total revenue in the second half of last year. That’s up from 29% in 2021. Their share of operating profit rose to about 90% over the same period.
Alongside its B2B push, LG is expanding its AI use across:
- Product development
- Manufacturing
- Supply chain management
- Procurement
- Sales
The company said it designed its AI transformation initiative to link processes end to end rather than optimize individual tasks. It refers to the initiative internally as AX.
LG is targeting a 30% productivity improvement within two to three years by automating routine decision-making and accelerating execution across departments.
LG’s internal AI assistant, LGenie, is being expanded into a broader enterprise AI agent platform built on EXAONE, a foundation model developed by LG AI Research. The platform is also integrated with external generative AI tools, including Microsoft Azure AI Services, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
Executives said the goal is to allow employees to spend more time on higher-value work while AI systems handle forecasting, coordination and data-driven decision support.
To support the strategy, LG plans to increase total future-growth investment by more than 40% this year, including spending on:
- Capital equipment
- Software
- Information technology
- Patents
- Strategic investments such as mergers and acquisitions
Priority investment areas include AI-enabled home technologies, smart factory solutions, AI data center cooling systems and robotics. Part of the funding will come from proceeds it generates through the initial public offering of LG Electronics’ India business, the company said.
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