Samsung has acquired AI-powered network and service analytics company Zhilabs in a bid to enhance its 5G capabilities. The financial details were not disclosed.

The acquisition – part of Samsung’s initiative to invest 25 trillion won (£17bn) in areas of AI, 5G, automotive electronics components, and biopharmaceuticals – will enable Samsung to offer automated solutions and network analytics alongside its 5G offerings.

“5G will enable unprecedented services attributed to the generation of exponential data traffic, for which automated and intelligent network analytics tools are vital,” said Youngky Kim, president and head of networks business at Samsung Electronics. “The acquisition of Zhilabs will help Samsung meet these demands to assure each subscriber receives the best possible service.”

Barcelona-based Zhilabs, founded in 2008, is now fully owned by Samsung but will operate independently under its own management. Samsung will work with its new acquisition on the transformation from 4G to 5G.

Zhilabs boasts customers such as Vodafone, O2, Telefonica, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, and TIM.

“5G technology will disrupt the communications landscape for the better, but it will only be successful if the quality of the networks transferring the information can be measured and improved to provide a best-in-class experience,” said Joan Raventós, CEO at Zhilabs. “We are delighted to be joining the Samsung Electronics family and adding a contribution with our software products and technology to the existing end-to-end solutions that the company offers its customers.”