TCL Opens an Artificial Intelligence R&D Centre in Poland

News Release – TCL Opens an Artificial Intelligence R&D Centre in Poland

TCL, one of the world’s largest LCD TV manufacturers, opened the TCL Research Europe R&D centre on September 3 in Warsaw. It will be the largest R&D centre outside of China belonging to the group. More than 100 specialists will be employed there. In cooperation with researchers from the University of Warsaw, they will work, among others, on the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Center will be led by Dr Bartosz Biskupski, a Polish scientist and the previous head of the Artificial Intelligence department at Samsung.

The Warsaw research and development centre is another investment of an electronic giant in Poland – since 2007, TCL runs a factory in Żyrardów. The work of TCL Research Europe will technologically improve the most important global products of the group: TVs, smartphones and Smart Home applications.

— Over 100 specialists in Artificial Intelligence will work at the Warsaw centre, mainly engineers and researchers – said Dr Bartosz Biskupski, head of the Polish research and development centre. TCL will cooperate with the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics of the University of Warsaw based on the letter of intent signed on September 3 by Bartosz Biskupski and the dean of the faculty prof. Paweł Strzelecki. Both institutions will exchange experience in the activities related to AI.

– Specialists employed in the capital of Poland will work on how the AI algorithms can be used to ensure the best image quality and to deliver innovative functionalities of electronic devices – said Bartosz Biskupski.

Using the AI, the R&D Center will also focus on the improvement of TCL products by teaching them to understand and to use human languages and making them more user-friendly. – Experts will also work on optimizing AI algorithms so that they can be used directly in devices, not in the cloud. This will improve the privacy of users. TCL products are also supposed to react faster and to be less dependent on the availability of the Internet – summarized Bartosz Biskupski.

The opening of TCL Research Europe was also attended by Deputy Minister of Entrepreneurship and Technology Tadeusz Kościński, Chief Technology Officer of TCL & Senior Vice President of TCL Corporation and President of TCL Corporate Research Dr Xiaolin Yan and the Director of the Economics and Trade Department of the Chinese Embassy in Poland Lijuan Liu

– We are very pleased with the investment of TCL in Poland. It is a proof of recognition of the scientific potential and an example of good economic relations between Poland and China – said Lijuan Liu from the Chinese Embassy – We are pleased that TCL will be able to benefit from the synergy of experience and skills of the Polish specialists.

Research and development is a key field for TCL. The R&D department employs nearly 8 thousand employees and only last year TCL invested 700 million dollars in R&D.

Information about the TCL Group

TCL is one of the largest manufacturers of LCD TVs in the world (11% share in this market segment) – in 2017, it was only behind Samsung and LG. The company is also the fifth producer of colourful LCD panels in the world and the twelfth producer of mobile phones in terms of sales. It is also in the top six Chinese manufacturers of air conditioners, refrigerators and dishwashers. In 2017, TCL sold nearly 24 million LCD TVs, more than 3 million LCD panels, 9 million air conditioners, and nearly 44 million smartphones and related devices.

TCL was founded in 1981 in Huizhou and initially produced magnetic tapes used, among others, in cassette tapes and VHS. Gradually, it had expanded the product range to include telephones or household appliances, and later mobile phones, devices with LCD panels, DVD players and tablets. From the very beginning, the group has strived to be a model in the field of so-called smart manufacturing. TCL was the first in China to produce, among others, a telephone with a hands-free system (1986), a colour widescreen display (1992) or a dual-core notebook computer (2006). Five years ago, the company presented the world’s largest 113-inch LCD TV with a three-dimensional screen.

The company employs over 75 thousand employees around the world, sells its products under the TCL and Thomson, Alcatel and BlackBerry brands. The company manages, among others, 26 research institutes, 22 production sites and several dozen laboratories. It operates in over 160 countries. The company’s operating profit last year amounted to nearly USD 17 billion, more than twice as much as in 2010.

Contact for media

Juliusz Skibicki
Tel.: +48 608 345 600
Mail: research.europe@tcl.com