Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have entered strategic partnerships with OpenAI to advance AI infrastructure development in Korea and globally as part of OpenAI’s Stargate initiative. The collaboration was unveiled following a high-level meeting in Seoul that included President Lee Jae-myung, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Samsung Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee, and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.
The agreements target a sharp expansion in advanced memory chip production to support AI workloads, including a goal of reaching 900,000 DRAM wafer starts per month. Samsung and SK Hynix will position themselves as foundational suppliers to OpenAI’s global AI platforms. Parallel efforts aim to boost domestic data center capacity, including outside the Seoul Metropolitan Area, under a Memorandum of Understanding with Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT to promote regional development and job growth.
OpenAI also signed separate agreements with SK Telecom to explore a dedicated AI data center, and with Samsung affiliates (C&T, SDS, and Heavy Industries) to evaluate additional infrastructure opportunities. Both Samsung and SK also intend to incorporate ChatGPT Enterprise and OpenAI APIs into their internal operations to enhance workflow automation and innovation across divisions.
• Samsung and SK Hynix to scale memory chip output for AI, targeting 900K DRAM wafer starts/month
• OpenAI signs MoU with Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT for AI data centers beyond Seoul
• SK Telecom and OpenAI exploring AI data center collaboration
• Samsung C&T, SDS, and Heavy Industries to assess further infrastructure roles
• Samsung and SK to adopt ChatGPT Enterprise and API technologies internally
• Aligns with Korea’s ambition to become a top-three AI power globally
“Korea has all the ingredients to be a global leader in AI—incredible tech talent, world-class infrastructure, strong government support, and a thriving AI ecosystem,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. “We’re excited to work with Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and the Ministry of Science and ICT through our global Stargate initiative to support Korea’s AI ambitions.”
🌐 Analysis: This marks a pivotal expansion of OpenAI’s Stargate program into Asia, building on recent global moves to secure infrastructure scale. By tapping Korea’s top semiconductor giants, OpenAI aims to shore up long-term supply for memory-intensive AI models while supporting national goals to regionalize data center growth. The move also signals SK’s growing ambitions in the full AI stack, positioning it as a vertically integrated infrastructure partner to OpenAI. This mirrors recent deals between OpenAI and data center operators such as CoreWeave in the U.S.
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