Altman meets Samsung executives on chips and AI infrastructure

Altman met Samsung Group executives in South Korea on Oct. 31, with the meeting held at Samsung’s Human Resources Development Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.[1][2] Samsung said it invited OpenAI’s CEO to the executive discussion, whose theme was how AI could change business over the next decade.[2] About 50 senior executives from Samsung’s electronics, financial and biotechnology affiliates attended.[2] The meeting therefore brought the discussion beyond chip supply alone, while the evidence does not specify individual decisions made by attendees.[2]

OpenAI and Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDS, Samsung C&T and Samsung Heavy Industries announced a letter of intent for a strategic partnership.[3] Samsung described the collaboration as bringing together capabilities across semiconductors, data centers, shipbuilding, cloud services and maritime technologies.[3] Samsung Electronics said it would work with OpenAI as a strategic memory partner, supplying advanced semiconductor solutions for OpenAI’s Stargate project.[3] The agreement’s stated scope is broad, but the evidence does not provide detailed project timelines or financial terms.[3]

OpenAI’s memory demand was projected to reach as much as 900,000 DRAM wafers per month.[3] Separately, OpenAI said Samsung Electronics and SK hynix planned to scale up advanced-memory production, targeting 900,000 DRAM wafer starts per month.[4] These are related but distinct figures: one is a demand projection, the other a production target.[3][4] The announcements do not establish that the target has been reached or that it will fully meet OpenAI’s projected demand.[3][4]

OpenAI said the partnerships would focus on expanding advanced-memory chip supply and data-center capacity in Korea, and that it had signed agreements to explore developing next-generation AI data centers there.[4] It also signed a memorandum with South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT to evaluate data-center opportunities outside the Seoul metropolitan area.[4] Samsung C&T, Samsung Heavy Industries and Samsung SDS agreed with OpenAI to assess opportunities for additional data-center capacity in Korea.[4] These statements describe exploration and assessment, rather than a confirmed construction schedule.[4]