Prime Highlight:
- Samsung and OpenAI signed an LOI for a broad partnership on next-gen AI infrastructure and technologies.
- The collaboration positions South Korea as a central hub in the global AI race, with support from top industry leaders and the government.
Key Facts:
- Samsung Electronics will be a key memory supplier for OpenAI’s $500B Stargate project, requiring ~900,000 wafers of advanced DRAM per month, more than double the current global supply of high-bandwidth memory.
- Samsung SDS will build and operate AI data centerswith OpenAI and has signed a reseller deal for ChatGPT Enterprise in Korea.
Background
Samsung and OpenAI have signed a letter of intent (LOI) to form a wide-ranging partnership that will focus on building next-generation AI infrastructure and advancing related technologies. The agreement includes Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, Samsung SDS, and Samsung Heavy Industries.
Samsung Electronics will become a key memory supplier for OpenAI’s $500 billion Stargate project, a global initiative developed with Oracle and SoftBank. OpenAI estimates it will need around 900,000 wafers of advanced DRAM per month to power ChatGPT and other AI tools. This demand is more than double the current global supply of high-bandwidth memory, underlining the project’s massive scale.
Samsung SDS will collaborate with OpenAI to build and operate AI data centers as well as provide enterprise AI services. It has also entered into a reseller deal to offer ChatGPT Enterprise in Korea to assist domestic companies in implementing OpenAI applications.
Samsung C&T and Samsung Heavy Industries will partner in floating power plants and data centers that may result in the reduction of cooling expenses, land use, and emissions.
The deal was announced after a meeting in Seoul between South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung, Samsung chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
With ChatGPT now serving 700 million weekly users worldwide and Nvidia investing $100 billion into OpenAI’s AI infrastructure, this partnership positions Korea as a central hub in the global race to build large-scale AI systems.
