[JY-Bill Gates Collaboration] Samsung Successfully Develops New Concept Restroom

Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Bill Gates, Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Samsung Electronics has succeeded in developing a new concept toilet in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The plan is to provide this to underdeveloped countries lacking sewage facilities or with poor conditions and water shortages.

On the 25th, Samsung Electronics announced that it held a closing ceremony for the 'Reinvented Toilet (RT) Project,' which it has been collaborating on with the Gates Foundation for three years, at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology.

The RT Project is a new concept sanitation toilet distribution project that the Gates Foundation has been promoting since 2011 for underdeveloped countries. The Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology has been cooperating with the Gates Foundation on RT development since 2019, and after three years of research and development, recently completed the development of RT core technologies and succeeded in user testing.

Attending the RT development cooperation closing ceremony were Jin Gyo-young, President (CEO) of the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, RT project participating executives and employees, Duray Kon, Deputy Director of the Gates Foundation, Sun Kim, RT Manager at the Gates Foundation, and Lee Yong-jae, Outside Advisor of the Gates Foundation.

Vice Chairman Lee met with Bill Gates, Chairman of the Gates Foundation, who visited Korea on the 16th of last month, to share the development results of the RT project and exchange opinions on global social contribution activities. During the meeting, Bill Gates explained the vision of the Gates Foundation and the current status of ongoing social contribution activities, and Vice Chairman Lee expressed his intention to contribute to solving humanity’s challenges through Samsung’s technology. Bill Gates also expressed his gratitude for Samsung’s dedicated efforts in the project to provide sanitary toilets to low-income countries.

It is known that Vice Chairman Lee personally instructed the formation of a task force for technology development at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology and monitored progress through emails, phone calls, and video conferences with Bill Gates.

A Samsung official explained, "We plan to license the RT project technology patents developed directly free of charge for commercialization targeting underdeveloped countries," and added, "Even after the 'RT Project' ends, we will continue to provide consulting support to the Gates Foundation for mass production."

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