You didn't think Samsung would rest on its smartphone laurels, did you? The company has had a profitable year, to say the least, and today it announced plans to put some $1.1 billion toward an effort to build a "global engine to accelerate innovation and to drive new business creation." A new Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center (SSIC) with three offices worldwide will allow the company's own R&D departments to interface with entrepreneurs outside the company, in addition to providing mentorship for new businesses. According to Sammy, the SSIC will center on innovation in "mobility, cloud and the Internet of Things." Where exactly is that $1.1 billion going, you ask? A $100 million Samsung Catalyst Fund will focus on developing components, while $1 billion will go toward funding new technologies and business models. Later this year, the SamsungCreate Challenge will call for innovators to create technology that improves lives -- using the company's own device solutions architecture platform, of course.
