Samsung's Silicon Valley Super Expansion

By Barbara E. Hernandez

| Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013 | Updated 2:56 PM PDT

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Samsung's Silicon Valley Super Expansion

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SAN JOSE, CA - JULY 30: A sign is posted in front of a Samsung Electronics office on July 30, 2012 in San Jose, California. The trial in the Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. patent battle begins today at a San Jose federal courthouse to determine if Samsung illegally copied technolgy used in Apple's popular iPhone and iPads. Apple is seeking $2.5 billion in damages. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Samsung will be expanding its technological footprint in the Silicon Valley with a new $300 million semiconductor campus, innovation center and start-up incubator, causing some to believe that the South Korean tech titan is escalating its famed rivalry with Apple

Samsung, a long-time supplier of Apple components, is now a rival with its latest Android smartphones. Apple has been less than pleased with the developments, including starting a series of lawsuits to stop their sales and manufacture. That Samsung is now expanding into Apple's backyard seems to indicate the Asian company has no intention of going away quietly, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Samsung has already open a new innovation center in Menlo Park, Calif., but a research and development labs is planned for San Jose and a start-up incubator in Palo Alto. However, its new semiconductor campus will also be built in San Jose with a "distinctive design", according to reports.

"This is the epicenter of disruptive forces," Young Sohn, Samsung's chief strategy officer now based in Silicon Valley, told the Times. "And I want to make sure we're part of those disruptions."

Basically Samsung wants to partake in what Silicon Valley has to offer and partner with start-ups and buy new companies that will help take their product to the next innovative level. "Much of our innovation in the past was done in Korea," Sohn said. "We have to reach out to global hot spots. How we tap into global innovation efforts will dictate our success."

Samsung is obviously hoping to benefit from the environment that created Apple. It wants to see the newest apps and incorporate them in their smartphones and hardware before Apple cherry-picks them. It seems like a pretty gutsy and smart move for the company.