Seoul: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met with the heads of Samsung and SK to discuss cooperation in the AI sector, focusing on the Stargate project. Earlier, Altman held separate meetings with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, ahead of his meeting with President Lee Jae Myung. South Korea aims to become one of the world's top three AI powerhouses.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Altman's visit follows OpenAI's announcement in January to invest at least $500 billion in the U.S. AI industry with Oracle Corp. and Japan's SoftBank, through a joint venture called Stargate. Samsung Group signed a letter of intent with OpenAI for a partnership involving Samsung Electronics Co., Samsung SDS Co., Samsung C and T Corp., and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. The agreement outlines comprehensive cooperation in chips, data centers, cloud computing, and marine technologies. Samsung plans to support the Stargate project with low-power memory chips, anticipating a need for 900,000 wafers of high-performance dynamic random access memory per month.
Samsung SDS will develop AI data centers and services targeting businesses, supporting design, construction, and operation under the Stargate project. Samsung C and T and Samsung Heavy Industries will collaborate with OpenAI on data center construction, including floating offshore facilities to reduce carbon emissions.
SK Group signed a letter of intent to supply memory chips and a separate memorandum of understanding (MOU) for constructing a new AI data center in southwestern South Korea. SK hynix Inc. will supply high-bandwidth memory and support OpenAI's efforts to secure AI graphics processing units. The agreement includes building an AI data center for OpenAI in South Korea, referred to as "Stargate Korea."
The Ministry of Science and ICT also signed an MOU with OpenAI for broad cooperation in the AI sector. They aim to foster AI experts, support startups, and promote South Korean companies' participation in OpenAI's global projects, including AI data center construction. Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon stated that the MOU will accelerate South Korea's AI transformation and bolster the competitiveness of its AI ecosystem.