OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Meets Samsung, SK Leaders During Korea Visit - Businesskorea

Samsung Discusses Enterprise AI Strategy as SK Reviews HBM, Data Center Partnership OpenAI CEO Sam Altman meets with presidents of major Samsung affiliates at the Samsung Human Resources Development Institute in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Oct. 31, 2026. [Samsung Electronics] Simply adopting artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer enough to secure a sustainable competitive advantage, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, told executives from Samsung affiliates on Oct. 31. Speaking at a roundtable at the Samsung Human Resources Development Institute in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Altman said corporate success will increasingly depend on how quickly companies use AI to innovate and develop better products. Altman addressed around 50 presidents of Samsung affiliates under the theme “The Next 10 Years Shaped by AI: The Enterprise’s Choice.” He was accompanied by a senior OpenAI delegation, including Richard Ho, vice president of hardware; Arvind KC, chief people officer; and Kiran Mani, managing director for Asia-Pacific and Japan, underscoring the importance of the company’s engagement with Samsung. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman presents Samsung Electronics DS Division AI Institute Head Song Yong-ho with a Codex micro keyboard during his visit to the Samsung Human Resources Development Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Oct. 31, 2026. At the start of the session, Altman presented Samsung executives with a Codex Micro Keyboard, a dedicated device for OpenAI’s coding agent. He suggested that in an era when people can instruct computers through voice commands, traditional full-sized keyboards may no longer be necessary, highlighting the importance of adopting tools suited to a rapidly changing technological environment. Altman also outlined his vision for enterprise AI adoption. As Samsung accelerates its companywide AI transformation, he discussed the potential value of deploying AI across business operations. He advised companies seeking to stay ahead of competitors to use AI to speed up processes throughout their organizations. Samsung and OpenAI have already established a partnership in AI infrastructure. On Oct. 1, 2025, OpenAI and four Samsung affiliates — Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDS, Samsung C&T and Samsung Heavy Industries — signed a letter of intent (LOI) to cooperate on global AI infrastructure. The partnership covers areas including advanced semiconductors, data centers, cloud services, shipbuilding and maritime technologies. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong also visited OpenAI’s headquarters in San Francisco in July 2026, continuing high-level engagement between the two companies. Altman expressed strong expectations for continued cooperation with Samsung, saying the companies could work together to deliver high-quality AI services to people around the world at scale. The meeting was seen as an effort to extend their existing infrastructure partnership by integrating AI more deeply into the business strategies of Samsung affiliates. Samsung is expected to use the session to further develop plans for AI adoption across its affiliates. With senior OpenAI executives meeting directly with Samsung’s leadership to discuss future business opportunities, the partnership could expand across hardware, software and infrastructure. Meanwhile, Altman also held a luncheon meeting in Seoul on Oct. 31 with Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group. Key executives from SK hynix and SK Telecom were also reportedly present. Although details of the discussions were not disclosed, the two sides were believed to have reviewed existing cooperation projects, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM) supply and the development of AI data centers in South Korea, as well as future areas of collaboration. SK Group and OpenAI established a strategic partnership for global AI infrastructure development in October 2025. The two sides signed a letter of intent for memory chip supply and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation to develop an AI data center in southwestern South Korea. SK also agreed to participate as a key partner in Stargate, OpenAI’s large-scale AI infrastructure initiative. SK hynix outlined plans to establish production capacity capable of meeting HBM demand equivalent to as many as 900,000 DRAM wafer starts per month. SK Telecom, meanwhile, agreed to work with OpenAI on the development of an AI data center in southwestern South Korea, while identifying AI applications for businesses and consumers and collaborating on next-generation data center technologies. SK has also outlined plans to make AI data centers a long-term growth driver and expand related investment. The group aims to attract partners and customers to help increase total investment in the sector to 1 trillion won, or approximately $746.88 billion, by 2035. Starting with its first AI data center under construction in Ulsan, SK plans to build a cluster with more than 2 gigawatts (GW) of capacity in the Yeongnam region. It aims to expand capacity to 5 GW by 2029 and potentially to 15 GW by 2035, depending on demand and investment conditions. Chey and Altman have continued to engage since their partnership was established. The two also met at the AI Summit in San Francisco in July 2026 to discuss long-term cooperation in AI infrastructure. Their discussions reportedly included power supply and data center optimization, as well as broader efforts to build a global AI infrastructure ecosystem. Park Jung-hwan pr@businesskorea.co.kr View More Article Copyright © BusinessKorea. Prohibited from unauthorized reproduction and redistribution