Interesting? Samsung Shifts Focus: Exit from LED Business to Prioritize Semiconductor

The Gradual Exit of Samsung's LED Business
Samsung's LED business encompassed three primary areas: LED lighting for illumination devices, TVs, and automobiles. According to the company's roadmap, this exit process will unfold in phases. Initially, Samsung will halt the production of LED chips for illumination devices and gradually wind down the lighting business within its CSS division by the first half of 2026. Subsequently, in the second half of the same year, the TV LED lighting business will also be discontinued. Ultimately, Samsung aims to fully exit the automotive LED lighting sector by the end of 2030. These measures signify Samsung's steadfast commitment to executing its business restructuring strategy, redirecting resources from less profitable areas towards more growth-oriented directions.

welight said:

The Gradual Exit of Samsung's LED Business
Samsung's LED business encompassed three primary areas: LED lighting for illumination devices, TVs, and automobiles. According to the company's roadmap, this exit process will unfold in phases. Initially, Samsung will halt the production of LED chips for illumination devices and gradually wind down the lighting business within its CSS division by the first half of 2026. Subsequently, in the second half of the same year, the TV LED lighting business will also be discontinued. Ultimately, Samsung aims to fully exit the automotive LED lighting sector by the end of 2030. These measures signify Samsung's steadfast commitment to executing its business restructuring strategy, redirecting resources from less profitable areas towards more growth-oriented directions.

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Damn. First all the great Japanese engineering firms disappeared, and now it's the great South Korean firm. What do they want to make that is growth oriented? Don't LEDs save energy and isn't that a growth area, saving energy?

Watch the price go through the roof as they become scarce. Overrated anyhow...Bridgelux, Sonan, and others will fill in nicley.....with extra sales money hopefully R&D will result in something cool from the other guys.

raggyb said:

Damn. First all the great Japanese engineering firms disappeared, and now it's the great South Korean firm. What do they want to make that is growth oriented? Don't LEDs save energy and isn't that a growth area, saving energy?

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LED's are electrically efficient but saving energy is accomplished by many other things than LED's. Also, they're just saying that they're getting out of the LED market. That doesn't mean that they're not developing more efficient types of lighting.

How many companies make incandescent bulbs now vs 40 years ago?

How many companies make compact fluorescent lights now vs 20 years ago?

And in 2025, the question — how many companies make LED's vs 10 years ago?

Samsung is signaling that the product is reaching maturity and will become a commodity product. They're an R&D and engineering firm with a production capacity. When a product becomes a commodity, the demand for the product is satisfied by companies that specialize in manufacturing rather than with expertise in R&D + engineering.

IBM used to make personal computers but they got out of that market when it no longer required R&D. In the 1980's and 1990's, there were dozens of companies making computers but most of them disappeared because there was no R&D involved so there was no way to differentiate one computer from the other. They were "white box" clones and computer companies disappeared every month because making a computer was. just buying products in bulk, assembling them, and shipping them.

Samsung is, apparently, seeing the same trend in LED's - no R&D needed, just manufacture, package, and ship.

This is the classic product lifecycle. To Samsung, the LED will be reaching maturity in the next few years.

driver77 said:

Watch the price go through the roof as they become scarce. Overrated anyhow...Bridgelux, Sonan, and others will fill in nicley.....with extra sales money hopefully R&D will result in something cool from the other guys.

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If demand is there, price may rise buy new supply will come into the market, causing prices to fall. That's simply the way economies have worked since hominids started exchanging things. At one time is was my two sharp rocks for the one strong spear. Now we use currency but it's the same underlying mechanism called a "market".

An LED is a means to an end - inputting electricity to generate light. The need will be there so something will move into the marketplace that uses electricity to generate light. Samsung is implying that it won't be LED's so they're redeploying their resources on other technologies.

The biggest threat to free markets is a government deciding what consumers should have, rather than allowing supply and demand to operate freely. It is impossible for a government to accumulate the "knowledge" that millions or billions of consumers generate when they choose to purchase a product or choose to not purchase a product.

Whuuut Im watching this. I dont really know much about leds or what this means. I love my samsung lights. Will there be other lights like these? I just know there are only a few led chip manufactures. Someone explain?

I read what was just said but in short is it just a change in availability? I thought samsungs were the best idk whats going on. I want to know though sounds like this effects me.

Shoot Im about to ask someone I know about this its not just lights? Wtf lol.

Ok the link explains some but damn, I guess Im asking will there be others that make the same led chips I use? Thats only like 5 years. Idk much about the chips themselves I just thought samsung were like the only ones making them.

That anything else they call fake diodes.

medidedicated said:

Ok the link explains some but damn, I guess Im asking will there be others that make the same led chips I use? Thats only like 5 years. Idk much about the chips themselves I just thought samsung were like the only ones making them.

That anything else they call fake diodes.

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There won't be Samsung chips but others will step up to fill the void. Bridgelux and others are already very close to the same efficiency and have been proven to grow weed just fine also.

Awesome thanks Idk much about this. I did find this thread on another site that started out with basically my questions but only really a few informal things discussed.


Idk how new of news this is but sounds huge dang. Makes sense too with current events.

Delps8 said:

IBM used to make personal computers but they got out of that market when it no longer required R&D. In the 1980's and 1990's, there were dozens of companies making computers but most of them disappeared because there was no R&D involved so there was no way to differentiate one computer from the other. They were "white box" clones and computer companies disappeared every month because making a computer was. just buying products in bulk, assembling them, and shipping them.

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And look at IBM now. Howd that work out for them?

Ive used epistar and samsung from a couple lights and the samsung just have something special about them. Growing clones same plant for a while. I thought they would be around for a while and could look for alternatives some other time.

You know how you just feed your plants water and light you just would hate to find another source. If one had magical results. Ugh. All I know is something Lm301h or something and samsung makes them.

Ive heard of bridgelux and osram, migro idk shit else about them though.

medidedicated said:

Whuuut Im watching this. I dont really know much about leds or what this means. I love my samsung lights. Will there be other lights like these? I just know there are only a few led chip manufactures. Someone explain?

I read what was just said but in short is it just a change in availability? I thought samsungs were the best idk whats going on. I want to know though sounds like this effects me.

Shoot Im about to ask someone I know about this its not just lights? Wtf lol.

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I'd guess their LEDs wont just stop, but they will sell the LED business and someone else will make them as they are today without improving them any more.

medidedicated said:

Ive used epistar and samsung from a couple lights and the samsung just have something special about them. Growing clones same plant for a while. I thought they would be around for a while and could look for alternatives some other time.

You know how you just feed your plants water and light you just would hate to find another source. If one had magical results. Ugh. All I know is something Lm301h or something and samsung makes them.

Ive heard of bridgelux and osram, migro idk shit else about them though.

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Same

raggyb said:

I'd guess their LEDs wont just stop, but they will sell the LED business and someone else will make them as they are today without improving them any more.

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Ok thanks that was basically my core question. And that the realm of diy that you can still source them and make better lights. I was persuaded to continue the rabit hole.

I just spent a lot of time money and just trying to keep things running. When I thought maxibloom was discontinued for my region I was like oh shit.

But persuaded today on a thread to learn more about the nutes and just have a diy approach to that too.

medidedicated said:

Ok thanks that was basically my core question. And that the realm of diy that you can still source them and make better lights. I was persuaded to continue the rabit hole.

I just spent a lot of time money and just trying to keep things running. When I thought maxibloom was discontinued for my region I was like oh shit.

But persuaded today on a thread to learn more about the nutes and just have a diy approach to that too.

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Just a guess. I don't know but I would think the leds have positive cash flow so someone will pay something for it and Samsung aint stupid they are going to sell it if they can and someone will buy it if it makes money and then probably ruin it using cheaper materials, etc. But if Samsung insists they rebrand it then they will be called Pingpong lm301H or Isgood LM301h,..something like that!

raggyb said:

Just a guess. I don't know but I would think the leds have positive cash flow so someone will pay something for it and Samsung aint stupid they are going to sell it if they can and someone will buy it if it makes money and then probably ruin it using cheaper materials, etc. But if Samsung insists they rebrand it then they will be called Pingpong lm301H or Isgood LM301h,..something like that!

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Yea I guess plus one to whoever said get them while they last this good. Good to know thanks a but sad yea but if it performs as good I probably wont mind it now but later when I want to dive deeper.

If sungrown people claiming produces more hash theres got to be a lot of room for improvement still. I hear its the diy folks on places like here and elsewhere that end up finding those key discoverys.

They all use chips or cobs from somewhere though so I thought Id check this out. If the head supplier of them with these chips go to shit. Idk thats my laymens understading.

Thanks for explaining further, not everyone reading along knows everything about this, it helps.

raggyb said:

And look at IBM now. Howd that work out for them?

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They got out of a market that decimated dozens/hundreds of companies because there simply wasn't/isn't innovation in computer manufacturers — it was, and is, all about paying a fee to Microsoft for their OS and assembling the piece parts into a generic box. Some companies have made it through the gauntlet by value add of services but, lacking that, it was a "race to the bottom" to hold cost down. That was antithetical to IBM and the were wise to sell their product lines off to Lenovo.

I think they stalled a bit in the 90's but they got their mojo back when they introduced their Z series of mainframes that ran on Linux. That was an amazing combo - truly redundant systems running an essentially unlimited number of virtual machines.

Their focus is on end to end systems and software which is a completely different business than slamming together low margin computers.

My expertise is in writing business software for small businesses and workgroups in the enterprise so I really didn't follow them all that much after the early 90's.

raggyb said:

I'd guess their LEDs wont just stop, but they will sell the LED business and someone else will make them as they are today without improving them any more.

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And something else will come up that will be more efficient and cheaper.

Technology is relentless.

medidedicated said:

Yea I guess plus one to whoever said get them while they last this good. Good to know thanks a but sad yea but if it performs as good I probably wont mind it now but later when I want to dive deeper.

If sungrown people claiming produces more hash theres got to be a lot of room for improvement still. I hear its the diy folks on places like here and elsewhere that end up finding those key discoverys.

They all use chips or cobs from somewhere though so I thought Id check this out. If the head supplier of them with these chips go to shit. Idk thats my laymens understading.

Thanks for explaining further, not everyone reading along knows everything about this, it helps.

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Right I sure don't know LEDs like super homegrowers do but I made a diy my way and just used what people say are best which is Samsungs. I guess they eventually crap out and you need a new one but probably won't be a while. I think their bigger markets are non grower applications and one thing I've noticed is there are not many choices in colors as in Kelvin and some colors are very inefficient so I think there is a lot to do for reasons we don't even know and if they get rid of their optical engineers then they aren't ever going to get them back and it's just bean counters making the decisions they know nothing about the product and never look forward at the big picture.