LG Electronics

LG Electronics achieved something most conglomerates fail at: growing platform revenue 75% year-over-year in 2024 while maintaining hardware dominance. The company's webOS-based advertising and content business crossed KRW 2 trillion, approaching the inflection point where software margins subsidize hardware competition. This is modular architecture done right—each business unit (home appliances at KRW 30+ trillion, vehicle components at KRW 10.6 trillion, TVs at KRW 15.2 trillion) operates as a semi-autonomous module, but all share the webOS nervous system. The Q1 2025 consolidated revenue of KRW 22.74 trillion with KRW 1.26 trillion operating profit shows modules firing in coordination.

The biological parallel is an octopus: a decentralized nervous system where each arm can operate independently, yet the central brain coordinates when needed. LG's home appliance unit doesn't wait for corporate approval to enter new markets—it just moves. But when webOS needs to scale across appliances, TVs, and vehicles, the central coordination kicks in. This architecture explains why LG can simultaneously launch Eco Solution Company for HVAC while scaling EV components without either starving for resources. Each module competes for its own nutrients; the central body just ensures they don't cannabalize each other's territories.

The genius move: targeting 45% B2B revenue by 2030 (up from 35% in 2024). This is niche partitioning at scale. Consumer markets face brutal price competition and demand volatility. B2B contracts—HVAC systems for buildings, EV components for automakers, displays for commercial spaces—offer steadier cash flows and longer product cycles. It's the difference between a generalist predator hunting daily and a specialist forming long-term symbiotic relationships with host organisms. The KRW 50+ trillion investment through 2030 funds this transition from volume-chasing consumer electronics to margin-rich industrial partnerships. Platform revenue hits 20% of operating profit by 2030 not by abandoning hardware, but by embedding software across every module.