LG Electronics said Wednesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Lumi United Technology, a Chinese Internet of Things (IoT) solution provider, to develop a wide range of artificial intelligence-based smart home solutions.

The Shenzhen-based company founded in 2009 is the largest home IoT solution provider in China, having shipped more than 10 million IoT devices around the world. It has also released some 20 smart devices, including sensors and controllers under the brand name of AQara and has been in partnership with global IT companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon.

LG said the partnership with Lumi will help build its smart home ecosystem consisting of smart connected home devices, AI platform and smart sensors. The two will also jointly showcase their smart home devices and solutions during IFA 2019 in Berlin, Europe’s largest tech show due in September.

LG Electronics has heavily invested its resources into AI research since last year. It established an AI research center in Toronto in August last year and launched industry-academia projects. The firm hired Darin Graham, a founding member of the Vector Institute of Artificial Intelligence in Canada, as the head of its AI lab in Toronto last May.

By Hwang Soon-min and Minu Kim

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