Samsung Summit Puts AI-Native 6G and Virtualized Networks in Focus

What Samsung convened

Samsung Electronics said it brought global telecommunications partners to its Samsung Research America campus in Mountain View, California, for Partner Day and the Silicon Valley Future Wireless Summit 2026, held Oct. 15 local time. The company said more than 100 people attended, representing major operators, manufacturers, government agencies and academia.

Samsung said the agenda covered software-driven networks for the AI and 6G eras and industry-wide collaboration. An executive said networks in the AI era are becoming intelligent infrastructure that can adapt through virtualization, adding that Samsung has commercialized virtualized networks at scale with partners.

6G, satellites and sensing

The summit featured three panel sessions: AI-Native 6G Networks; Taking 6G to Space With NTN; and Connecting the Physical and Digital Worlds. The satellite session reviewed low Earth orbit constellations and standards work under discussion at 3GPP, according to Samsung. The closing session addressed Integrated Sensing and Communications and physical AI.

Samsung said demonstrations showed 6G core technologies developed with partners, including AI RAN, X-MIMO, D-MIMO and ISAC. It cited field validation of AI-enabled RAN across layers, transmission in the 7 GHz candidate band, cell-edge user experience and base-station-based sensing. These are company-reported results, not independently verified.

Partner ecosystem

Samsung said it began collaboration with LG U+ this year and conducted ISAC field validation with Verizon at a soccer fan event in Dallas. It also listed research partnerships with NTT DOCOMO, KDDI Research, KT, SK Telecom and SoftBank. The company framed all of this as ongoing work toward making 6G a reality, not a commercial launch.