Expectations are growing that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman could sign a big surprise deal with Korea’s semiconductor powerhouses — Samsung Electronics and SK hynix — during his upcoming Seoul visit in a move to strengthen the chip supply chain in an era of artificial intelligence (AI).

Altman, the creator of the AI chatbot ChatGPT, plans to attend the Builder Lab developer workshop on Tuesday, where around 100 tech industry officials are expected to gather. This marks the first time OpenAI will hold its own event in Korea.

All eyes are on whether he will meet with Korean chip moguls to elevate partnerships. According to the industry, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is highly likely to hold a closed-door meeting with Altman for talks on a broad range of agendas, such as AI services, data centers and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.

SK hynix, a chip affiliate of the group, is now enjoying its heyday on its preemptive inroads into HBM chips crucial for AI services. The chipmaker maintains close ties with Nvidia and a group of global Big Tech with the rapid rise of AI and its subsequently strong impact on other industries.

This will be the first time in eight months that the heads of the two companies will possibly meet each other after Chey's visit to San Francisco in June 2024.

However, it also remains to be seen whether Altman will also hold talks with Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

In January 2024, Altman met with key Samsung executives in charge of the firm’s memory chip business and foundry operations. He also visited the chipmaker’s major production line in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. On the same day, he met with Chey and SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung.

Both Samsung and SK on Monday declined to confirm any potential meetings between their top executives and Altman in Seoul.

Given Altman’s keen interest in Korea, another major agenda is when OpenAI will be able to open an office in Seoul. In April last year, the company set up its first Asian office in Tokyo. It then expanded its foothold in the region by building another office in Singapore. Rumors are the Seoul office will open by the end of 2025.

Following the Builder Lab event, Altman will discuss its partnership with Kakao by attending the latter’s planned press conference. Kakao is the operator of Korea’s leading mobile messenger. Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a and Altman will share details on how they will strengthen AI ties during the upcoming event.

Last year, Kakao unveiled its vision to launch its own AI model called Kanana, with the company set to introduce it to the public sometime around the first quarter of this year. Chances are Kakao utilizes the AI model from OpenAI for the operation of Kanana.

“As the head of OpenAI is sending repeated gestures to deepen partnerships with developers and tech firms here, there stands the possibility that the company [might open] a Seoul office faster than expected,” an official from the tech industry said.

In November, OpenAI forged a partnership with the Korea Development Bank to level up Korea’s AI ecosystem.

By: DocMemory
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