LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan speaks during a press conference in Palo Alto, California, on May 11. / LG Electronics

“We are willing to offer an annual salary of over 1 million dollars to recruit exceptional artificial intelligence (AI) talent,” said LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan during a press conference held in Palo Alto, California, on May 11.

He emphasized that the company is ready to wage a war for talent against U.S. tech companies such as OpenAI and Microsoft by offering up to $1 million in annual salary to attract top-tier AI talent. “These individuals may earn more than me,” he added. Cho’s earned 2.34 billion won ($1.7 million) last year. LG is essentially issuing a ‘blank check’ to bring in the best in the AI field.

Cho and other LG Electronics executives embarked on a business trip to the western part of the U.S., starting with this press conference. The trip aims to scout for AI talent in the heart of the AI industry and discuss AI cooperation with local big tech companies such as Microsoft. The executives attended the “North American Tech Conference” in Cupertino in the afternoon. This talent recruitment event invited over 50 AI talent from big tech companies like Tesla, OpenAI, Google and Nvidia, and doctoral students at UC Berkeley.

LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan and LG executives speak during the “North American Tech Conference” in Cupertino. / LG Electronics

This is the first time that the CEO of LG Electronics has personally engaged in recruitment activities targeting overseas talent pools, signaling that securing AI talent has become a top priority for the company. “The tech industry is at a crucial inflection point with the development of AI, and we are here to reinvent the future together,” Cho told the attendees at the recruitment event.

LG Electronics’ AI recruitment drive is part of the company’s commitment to integrating AI across its operations to propel long-term growth. LG Electronics sells 100 million products annually in global markets. From 2019 to this year, LG has amassed 700 billion hours of customer data through its ‘ThinQ’ smart home platform and ‘WebOS’ TV platform. This vast amount of big data is essential for developing new businesses, highlighting the company’s need for AI talent.

“In the second half of this year, we will launch ‘AI Agent,’ an AI service that collects lifestyle patterns and emotion data in real-time to operate home appliances,” Cho said. “In the future, if you wake up in the morning and your complexion is not good, home appliances, such as the TV, will capture it and schedule a doctor’s appointment.”

Cho will also attend the Microsoft CEO Summit on May 14. The CEO Summit is an invitation-only event that brings together executives from leading global companies. LG and Microsoft plan to discuss building AI solutions that can be applied to LG Electronics’ business segments, such as home appliances.

LG aims to apply AI across all its business segments, including home appliances, TVs, and electronics. LG has been using its super-large multimodal AI, EXAONE, from the product development stage and has designed AI chips to be installed in its devices. The company wants to reduce dependence on other companies and achieve technological independence in AI models for home appliances and semiconductors. LG also plans to enter the home and wearable robot business, following a $60 million investment in the U.S. robotics company Bear Robotics last March.