Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-Young is reportedly set to meet OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in Seoul on February 4, marking his first major business engagement since being acquitted in a high-profile stock manipulation and accounting fraud case.
Tomorrow’s meeting, as reported by Korean news outlet Maeil Business Newspaper, signals a potential shift in Samsung’s strategy, with discussions expected to focus on artificial intelligence, semiconductor technology, and the possibility of financial collaboration.
OpenAI has been actively seeking new hardware partnerships as it expands beyond software and cloud-based AI models. The company a few months ago scrapped its ambitious $7 trillion AI chip foundry plan in favor of working with TSMC and Broadcom, suggesting a strong focus on optimizing AI hardware.
Samsung, one of the largest manufacturers of semiconductor technology, could play a crucial role in OpenAI’s evolving AI chips ambitions and ecosystem.
AI Hardware Collaboration and OpenAI’s Shift Toward Custom Chips
OpenAI has been increasingly looking for alternatives to Nvidia’s GPUs, which currently dominate AI training and inference workloads.
The company has already partnered with TSMC to develop custom AI chips, but securing additional semiconductor suppliers would be a logical step to reduce dependency on a single manufacturer. Samsung, as a leader in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) solutions, could provide critical components needed for OpenAI’s AI infrastructure.
HBM is essential for AI processing because it enables significantly higher data transfer speeds compared to traditional DRAM. The technology is already used in AI data centers and large-scale training models, making Samsung a potential key supplier for OpenAI’s custom AI hardware ambitions.
OpenAI is facing increasing competition from companies like DeepSeek, which has developed highly efficient AI models at a fraction of OpenAI’s cost. As AI becomes more computationally intensive, hardware optimization is becoming a strategic necessity rather than just an efficiency improvement.
Investment Talks: OpenAI’s Valuation and Samsung’s Potential Role
Beyond hardware, investment discussions may also be on the table. OpenAI is currently valued at $175 billion and is currently looking to secure additional funding from SoftBank and others that could push its valuation to $340 billion. With AI research and development becoming increasingly expensive, attracting large-scale investments has become essential for companies aiming to remain competitive in the AI sector.
Samsung, on the other hand, has been refocusing its business strategy following Lee Jae-Young’s legal challenges. While the company is already deeply invested in AI through its consumer electronics and semiconductor divisions, aligning with OpenAI could further solidify its position in AI-driven computing.
SoftBank has reportedly expressed interest in investing up to $25 billion into OpenAI, and if Samsung were to join this financial effort, it could deepen the partnership beyond just hardware supply.
OpenAI’s expansion is not happening in isolation. Microsoft has been scaling up its AI infrastructure to accommodate OpenAI’s growing computational needs, and other tech giants, including Google and Amazon, are aggressively developing their own AI hardware. As OpenAI looks to strengthen its hardware supply chain and financial backing, Samsung emerges as a logical partner in both respects.
Sam Altman’s Global AI Strategy Tour
Altman’s visit to Seoul is part of a broader international tour aimed at securing partnerships and expanding OpenAI’s AI footprint. He is expected to travel to India, Dubai, Germany, and Japan, meeting with government officials and business leaders.
This aligns with OpenAI’s efforts to establish strategic alliances worldwide and ensure its AI models remain dominant in an increasingly competitive field.
The AI industry is moving toward greater specialization in both software and hardware, and partnerships between major AI developers and semiconductor companies are becoming a key driver of progress.
Samsung’s role in AI chip manufacturing positions it well to contribute to OpenAI’s next wave of AI model development, while OpenAI’s software could enhance Samsung’s consumer AI offerings.
Samsung’s Semiconductor Expertise and Its Role in AI’s Future
Samsung’s involvement in AI goes far beyond its chip manufacturing. The company has been a leader in integrating advanced memory technology into a variety of industries, from smartphones to enterprise solutions. As AI demands higher data throughput, Samsung’s expertise in HBM and other memory technologies positions it as a pivotal player in the future of AI hardware.
HBM allows for faster memory access and reduced power consumption, both of which are crucial for AI applications that need to process vast amounts of data in real-time. These memory chips, combined with powerful AI processors, can enable faster training times for AI models, making it a valuable asset for companies like OpenAI looking to scale their infrastructure quickly.
Samsung’s chip division could be the linchpin in OpenAI’s quest to optimize both software and hardware in its ongoing push to lead the AI race.
The outcome of these discussions will not only shape the immediate trajectory of OpenAI and Samsung but could also have long-term implications for the entire tech industry. As AI continues to evolve and its applications become increasingly widespread, the companies that succeed in forming strategic alliances, like this one, will be best positioned to lead in the AI-driven future.