LG Electronics Acquires US Data Analytics Firm 'Alphonso' to Diversify TV Business Portfolio

LG Electronics announced on the 7th that it has invested approximately $80 million (87 billion KRW) in Alphonso Inc., a TV advertising and content data analysis startup headquartered in Silicon Valley, USA, securing more than 50% ownership.

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] LG Electronics is laying the foundation for diversifying its TV business portfolio by acquiring the U.S. data analytics specialist Alphonso.

On the 7th, LG Electronics announced that it invested approximately $80 million (87 billion KRW) to acquire more than 50% stake in Alphonso Inc., a TV advertising and content data analytics startup headquartered in Silicon Valley, USA.

This acquisition of Alphonso aims to expand the TV business into services, content, and software sectors by integrating digital transformation into its existing core business. Founded in 2012, Alphonso has secured TV viewing data from 15 million households in North America through its proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) video analysis solution. Based on this, Alphonso collaborates with global TV manufacturers such as LG Electronics, Sharp, Toshiba, Hisense, and Skyworth, as well as TV solution technology companies.

With this acquisition, LG Electronics plans to enhance its TV business portfolio, which was previously hardware-centric, and secure additional growth momentum in the fiercely competitive TV market by differentiating its service and content competitiveness. LG Electronics shipped 30 million TVs last year and is increasing its market share in the global premium TV market with LG OLED TVs at the forefront. The proportion of TVs connected to the internet to enjoy various content simultaneously is also steadily increasing. As of last year, smart TVs accounted for more than 83% of TVs shipped worldwide, and smart TVs accounted for more than 90% of LG TVs.

In this business environment, by utilizing Alphonso’s advertising and content analytics capabilities, LG Electronics can provide various customized services and content to customers who purchase and watch LG TVs through free broadcasting services such as LG Channels. Especially, providing customer-tailored services can ultimately lead to leading customer trends, so LG Electronics expects to create synergy not only in simple content revenue generation but also across all business areas beyond TVs.

Alphonso can also significantly expand its business area, which was centered in North America, by leveraging LG Electronics’ global network. LG Electronics plans to maintain the current management and employees to preserve the startup culture-driven growth momentum that Alphonso possesses.

Park Hyung-se, head of LG Electronics’ HE Business Division, said, "We will continue to advance our business structure based on digital transformation while continuously expanding the service area based on customer value."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.