The Next Frontier: LG's future is not just the TV and fridge in your home

Seoul, South Korea: For decades, LG Electronics was defined by the products that sat quietly in people's homes — refrigerators humming in kitchens, washing machines spinning in utility rooms and televisions dominating living rooms.

Today, the South Korean company is trying to redefine itself.

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At a series of briefings with reporters in Seoul this month, LG executives outlined a future that stretches well beyond traditional consumer electronics. The company is increasingly positioning itself as a provider of recurring services, a business-to-business technology partner and, eventually, a player in the emerging world of physical AI and home robotics.

LG's push into higher-quality revenue streams has been continuing to gain traction, with its B2B business generating about Rs 398 billion in first-quarter sales—up 1% from a year earlier and 19% sequentially—to account for 36% of total revenue, while its subscription business maintained double-digit growth.

The shift reflects a broader effort by LG to reduce its reliance on cyclical consumer spending and build steadier, higher-margin businesses around contracts, subscriptions and infrastructure.

Building stability beyond consumer cycles

Ratings agency S&P recently pointed to three forces reshaping LG's earnings profile.

The first is resilience within its core home appliance business. Despite economic uncertainty, LG's premium positioning has helped shield profitability from the volatility that typically affects mass-market hardware manufacturers.

The second is an increasingly important subscription business.

LG's appliance subscription model generated around $1.5 billion in annual revenue after expanding by more than 75% in 2024, according to S&P.

Unlike conventional rentals, the model is designed to offer flexibility. Consumers can lease products bundled with maintenance services, but they are not necessarily excluded from ownership.

"Consumers can own the product because we also provide options for customers," Aeron Kim, Leader of IR Communication Team at LG Electronics told reporters in Seoul. "They can rent it, but if they want to own it, we can also provide a discount. Eventually, ownership of the product can transfer to the consumer."

The structure varies by market.

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In South Korea, LG often contracts directly with customers through its company-operated Best Shop network. Elsewhere, third-party distributors can offer subscription contracts while LG continues to provide after-sales maintenance.

"It depends on the market condition," the executive said.

"Cultural differences and macroeconomic conditions influence this business model quite heavily. In Korea, this model works better in dense urban housing environments such as studios, apartments and villas. In those cities, younger generations often move from house to house and may prefer built-in products or rental models rather than owning large appliances," Kim added.

Third, the company's growing focus on B2B businesses, including vehicle components and HVAC, provided a steadier flow of long-term contractual income, helping cushion its financial performance against swings in consumer demand.

The B2B growth engine

Behind the subscription push lies an even bigger strategic shift. LG increasingly sees its future in business-to-business markets.

Vehicle components, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, smart factory technologies and AI infrastructure have become central pillars of its growth strategy.

Unlike consumer purchases, which fluctuate with sentiment and economic conditions, B2B businesses generate longer-term revenue through contracts and recurring relationships.

Construction companies, for instance, increasingly require integrated solutions rather than standalone appliances. LG says its ability to offer built-in appliances alongside AI-enabled home technologies provides a competitive advantage.

For overseas markets, the company has developed region-specific solutions.

In North America, builder customers are being offered LG ThinQ Pro, a platform that integrates and manages home appliances and HVAC systems within residential developments.

The same capabilities are increasingly being marketed to commercial customers seeking connected buildings and energy-efficient infrastructure.

Enter physical AI

Perhaps the clearest sign of LG's ambitions lies in robotics. The company, which has spent years developing cleaning robots, autonomous mobile robots and commercial automation technologies, is now preparing for what executives describe as the next frontier: robots designed for the home.

The effort gained momentum after LG unveiled its commercialization roadmap at CES 2026.

Youngjae Kim, Leader of Robotics Platform Advanced Research Task at LG Electronics acknowledged that truly versatile household robots remain years away. Commercialisation is unlikely before 2030, the executive said, given the safety requirements and complexity of home environments.

But advances in artificial intelligence are accelerating development timelines.

"The home is the most personal and complex environment, with every space being different," said Youngjae Kim. "Therefore, we plan to systematically prepare for the commercialization of home robots by leveraging our hardware technologies and continuously validating robot data through real-world demonstrations and simulations."

LG argues that decades of experience in consumer appliances provide an advantage.

"We believe this is an area where LG can offer a unique competitive advantage, built on more than 60 years of experience in home appliances," the executive said. "Over the decades, we have developed a deep understanding of home environments, consumer behavior, and how people interact with everyday appliances."

While healthcare and industrial robotics often attract greater attention, LG believes the home remains one of the least understood yet potentially largest robotics markets.

Betting on the components behind robots

LG's ambitions extend beyond building robots themselves. The company is also investing in actuators — the motors and mechanical systems that enable robots to move.

Executives described actuators as one of the most attractive opportunities within the broader robotics value chain.

"According to some market researchers, actuators can account for around 40 to 60 percent of a robot's cost or key components," an executive told reporters. "This means the actuator market has strong potential."

LG recently introduced its actuator brand, Axium, as investors increasingly focus on companies positioned within the emerging humanoid robot supply chain.

The company believes its long-standing expertise in motors and precision components can translate into competitive advantages in robotics.

Cooling the AI boom

Another opportunity sits far away from the consumer home. As global technology companies race to build AI infrastructure, the demand for sophisticated cooling systems has surged.

LG is developing large-scale chillers and liquid cooling technologies, including coolant distribution units (CDUs), aimed at AI data centres.

The ability to offer both traditional air cooling and advanced liquid cooling systems could help LG secure positions within the supply chains of major technology companies building next-generation computing infrastructure.

The Nvidia connection

LG's growing ambitions have also drawn the attention of Nvidia. Earlier this month, Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said the US chipmaker was working with LG Group on humanoid robots and future data centres.

"We are working with them in motor technology as well as mechanical systems so that we can bring together humanoid robotics and the future of robotics," Huang told reporters in Seoul after meeting LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.

For LG, the partnership offers validation as it seeks to establish credibility in sectors increasingly shaped by AI.

For now, refrigerators and televisions still account for much of LG's identity and revenue.

But, executives increasingly describe the company in different terms — not simply as an appliance maker, but as a technology platform spanning recurring services, industrial systems, AI infrastructure and, eventually, robots designed to live alongside the consumers it has served for generations.


(The writer was in Seoul, South Korea on the invitation of LG Electronics)