OpenAI has announced strategic partnerships with South Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to support its ambitious $500 billion Stargate project, aimed at building a global AI infrastructure. The agreements, formalized during a meeting in Seoul with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, Samsung Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee, and SK Chairman Chey Tae-won, focus on increasing the supply of advanced memory chips essential for next-generation AI models and expanding data center capacity in Korea. Samsung and SK hynix plan to scale up production to 900,000 DRAM wafer starts per month, addressing the growing demand for high-bandwidth memory critical for AI applications.
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In addition to the chip supply agreements, OpenAI has signed a series of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT to explore opportunities for building AI data centers outside the Seoul Metropolitan Area, supporting balanced regional economic growth and job creation. Partnerships with SK Telecom and Samsung subsidiaries, including Samsung C&T, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Samsung SDS, aim to assess opportunities for additional data center capacity in the country. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed confidence in South Korea’s potential to become a global leader in AI, citing its “incredible tech talent, world-class infrastructure, strong government support, and a thriving AI ecosystem.”
