ISTANBUL
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met with the heads of South Korean tech companies Samsung and SK on Wednesday to discuss AI cooperation, with both agreeing to supply memory chips to the US company.
Altman met with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won in Seoul.
Samsung will provide low-power memory chips with an uninterrupted supply to OpenAI's flagship Stargate project, as well as support for the design, construction, and operation of AI data centers, according to the Yonhap News.
Both companies will also cooperate to build data centers, such as floating offshore facilities, to reduce carbon emissions.
SK Group also signed a letter of intent with OpenAI to supply high-bandwidth memory chips, as well as a separate memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the construction of a new AI data center, known as "Stargate Korea," in southwestern South Korea.
SK Hynix Inc. will also help OpenAI acquire AI graphics processing units.
Following the meeting with the heads of the two South Korean companies, Altman met with President Lee Jae Myung, who expressed hope for greater collaboration between the two parties to strengthen the AI infrastructure and achieve his administration's goal of making South Korea one of the world's top three AI powerhouses.
"I expect the nation's AI ecosystem to significantly advance through the cooperation between the Korean government and OpenAI," Lee said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and ICT has signed a separate MoU with OpenAI.
"Through the MOU, South Korea will accelerate the country's AI transformation in partnership with a leading global AI company and bolster the competitiveness of its AI ecosystem," Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said.