LG offensive: from refrigerator motor to robot muscle

LG Electronics is making 2026 a pivotal year for its transformation.

At the general meeting in Seoul, CEO Lyu announced the radical expansion of the B2B robotics business.

The key: LG doesn't just want to build finished robots, but become the world's most important supplier for their "muscles." For this, the group uses its decades of experience from household appliance production.

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"We will designate this year as the beginning of full-scale implementation of the robot business."

LG CEO Lyu

Strategy: "Axium" – hardware dominance

The centerpiece of the new strategy is actuators (drive elements). These account for over 40% of a robot's production costs.

Economies of scale: LG already produces 45 million motors annually for washing machines and refrigerators. This infrastructure is now being used for the new "Axium" actuator line.
Goal: LG wants to establish itself as a key supplier for global robot manufacturers, while its own brand CLOiD goes into commercial testing in 2027.

The 4 pillars of the "Physical AI" vision 2026

LG is leaving the pure consumer market and focusing on high-margin B2B sectors:

Focus area	Objective	Technological leverage
Robot components	World market leader for actuators	Integration of motor, gearbox, and control technology.
Data center cooling	Cooling for AI server farms	Liquid cooling for massive energy efficiency.
Smart factories	Global B2B platform	AI-controlled manufacturing solutions (order backlog in the millions).
AI home	"Home Orchestration"	Ecosystem that understands life patterns and autonomously optimizes the environment.

Growth & efficiency: the AI transformation

CEO Lyu is planning a company-wide "AI transformation" to increase productivity by over 30% in the next three years.

Design automation: AI is to shorten development cycles and reduce costs.
Investor bonus: As a sign of confidence, LG increased the dividend by 35% to 1,350 won per share.

All details & data: Korea Times, The Korea Herald