LG Electronics CEO offers to pay $1m salary to top AI talents

LG Electronics Chief Executive Officer Cho Joo-wan traveled to the US to meet with big tech counterparts and discuss collaboration in artificial intelligence, as well as to secure AI talents, the company said Sunday.

Hosting a tech conference in Cupertino, California on Saturday, Cho underscored the importance of talents in AI development and said the company is willing to offer large salaries to secure top talents.

"Changes such as electrification, servitization and digitalization are occurring in all industries, and new possibilities are being created with AI, cloud and big data technologies," Cho said during the event, inviting some 50 tech experts in the US.

"These possibilities offer new opportunities for LG Electronics, which have been accumulating various core technologies and know-how."

According to LG, the number of products it sells in a year is about 100 million units. Calculating the average life cycle of a product as seven years means LG has an average of 700 million customers using its product in a year. And this will be the biggest strength that will propel the growth of AI technology for LG, Cho said.

At a press conference held in Silicon Valley following the tech event, Cho said, "To secure AI talents, we should be able to offer an annual salary of $1 million, and we should understand (that such talent) can get paid more than myself."

“I plan to hire researchers, executive-level talents, or at least those who can lead a team. And I am particularly looking for a leader in the burgeoning security sector," the CEO said, adding that securing heavyweight talents is more important than the number.

On Monday, Cho will host a company briefing for senior executives of global investment institutions based in San Francisco. He will also attend the Microsoft CEO Summit, a closed meeting inviting chiefs of top tech giants, set to kick off Tuesday for three days in Washington.