On Tuesday, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae Won met with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during his visit to Seoul, sparking growing interest in possible collaborations between the two companies. The meeting comes amid heightened attention around DeepSeek, China’s response to ChatGPT, and speculation about the future of generative AI.
The two leaders convened at 9:30 a.m. at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul’s Jung-gu district. This is their third public meeting, following Altman’s visit to South Korea in January 2023 and Chairman Chey’s trip to the U.S. later that same year.
In addition to Chey, SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh Jung and SK Telecom CEO Yoo Young Sang attended the discussions.
The meeting was expected to cover various topics, including the rapidly evolving AI landscape, emerging industry trends, and potential AI-driven ventures like data centers. Given the recent buzz surrounding DeepSeek, discussions likely touched on the implications of China’s AI advancements.
During his Japan visit the day before, Altman stirred further excitement within the industry by announcing plans to develop a generative AI-specific device that could replace smartphones alongside proprietary semiconductors. In an interview with Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Altman revealed his vision to create devices optimized for AI, although specifics about the AI hardware were not disclosed.
Although details on these AI devices and semiconductors remain scarce, there is considerable potential for collaboration with SK Group. OpenAI, along with other major tech companies, already utilizes NVIDIA’s AI accelerators, which feature SK Hynix’s high-bandwidth memory (HBM) – a key technology that could further strengthen the partnership.
Meanwhile, SK Telecom is gearing up to launch the beta version of its global personal AI agent, Aster, in March, with a full release slated for later this year. The company has also joined a consortium led by MIT that focuses on generative AI research, with OpenAI as a participant, highlighting its growing ambitions in the AI space.
In addition, SK Hynix may become involved in OpenAI’s Stargate project. Last month, OpenAI announced plans to invest over $500 billion in AI data centers across the U.S. over the next four years, with SoftBank and Oracle joining the effort.
Altman will also hold a private technical workshop, Builder Lab, at the same hotel for local startup developers. He will also meet with Kakao CEO Jeong Sin Ah as the company prepares to launch its AI assistant app, Kanana. Speculation is rising about whether a potential collaboration between OpenAI and Kakao will be announced.
Altman is scheduled to meet with Samsung Electronics executives, and rumors suggest that Samsung’s Chairman, Lee Jae Yong, may attend. If this meeting takes place, it will mark Lee’s first major business engagement since resolving his legal issues.
The meeting with Samsung is expected to explore specific partnership opportunities. Given Samsung’s leadership in both semiconductor manufacturing (foundry services) and mobile technology, the company is seen as an ideal partner for Altman’s vision of developing custom AI chips and devices.
