OpenAI is strengthening its ties with South Korea as the competition to build artificial intelligence shifts from developing better models to securing the advanced semiconductor infrastructure needed to power them.
That strategy was underscored when Jay Y. Lee, executive chairman of Samsung Electronics, one of the world’s largest semiconductor and consumer electronics manufacturers, met OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco on July 25. OpenAI confirmed the meeting, saying the two discussed expanding cooperation in artificial intelligence and semiconductor technologies.
While neither side disclosed specific details, industry observers expect the talks centered on technologies that have become essential to AI development, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM), DRAM and advanced foundry manufacturing. As AI models grow larger and require more computing power, access to those technologies has become a strategic priority for companies such as OpenAI.
The meeting comes as Samsung broadens its relationship with the U.S. AI company beyond hardware. The South Korean technology giant recently decided to deploy ChatGPT and OpenAI’s AI coding assistant Codex across its global workforce, making OpenAI’s software part of Samsung’s internal operations.
The partnership has also expanded at the infrastructure level. Samsung and OpenAI entered a strategic partnership last October to cooperate on advanced memory chips and next-generation AI infrastructure. OpenAI has since widened its collaboration to include the South Korean government and SK hynix, one of the world’s leading memory chip manufacturers, calling the initiative its first country-level strategic partnership in the Asia-Pacific region.
Altman’s visit highlighted that broader effort. One day before meeting Jay Y. Lee, he held talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and later participated in the San Francisco AI Summit, reflecting OpenAI’s growing engagement with both South Korea’s government and its semiconductor industry.
For years, the AI industry was defined largely by competition over algorithms and foundation models. Increasingly, however, the ability to secure advanced memory chips and manufacturing capacity is becoming just as important. As that shift accelerates, South Korea is emerging not only as a supplier of critical semiconductor components but as a strategic partner in building the infrastructure behind the next generation of artificial intelligence.
