Related: Samsung's Lee Jae-yong returns from Hong Kong, Japan David Eun as new Chief Innovation Officer at Samsung NEXT Investments will be made mainly in the US, but could later expand to other areas, including Europe and Asia, according to Samsung. "The creation of the new fund is part of Samsung's initiatives to seek innovation in new fields," a Samsung official said. The latest announcement came after David Eun, the head of the Silicon-based investment unit, was promoted to chief innovation officer last week. Samsung heir and Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who has been focusing on seeking new growth engines in the face of neck-and-neck competition in the smartphone sector, is said to be behind the decisions on both the promotion and venture fund. The tech giant has been stepping up its efforts to take its AI capability to the next level to stay competitive against rivals, including Google, Facebook, and Apple, all of which are pouring a great amount of resources in AI and hiring AI researchers all over the world.