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OpenAI also signed a MoU with the Ministry of Science and ICT to assess opportunities for data center facilities outside the Seoul metropolitan area
In sum – what to know:
Expanded chip capacity in Korea – Samsung and SK hynix aim to scale memory production to 900,000 DRAM wafer starts per month to meet growing AI model demands.
New data center plans – OpenAI, SK Telecom, and Samsung affiliates signed agreements with Korea’s MSIT to evaluate sites for next-generation AI data centers, including outside Seoul.
Integration of OpenAI tools – Samsung and SK will deploy ChatGPT Enterprise and APIs within operations to enhance workflows and develop new AI-driven applications.
Korean companies Samsung and SK Telecom, and U.S. AI firm OpenAI have announced new partnerships under the latter’s Stargate initiative, a global AI infrastructure program.
In a release, OpenAI noted that these new partnerships followed a meeting at the Presidential Office in Seoul between President Lee Jae-myung, Samsung Electronics executive chairman Jay Y. Lee, SK chairman Chey Tae-won, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
As part of the initiative, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will increase production of advanced memory chips, with a target of 900,000 DRAM wafer starts per month.
The agreements also stipulate plans to explore next-generation AI data centers in Korea. OpenAI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) to assess opportunities for facilities outside the Seoul metropolitan area.
In parallel, SK Telecom signed an MoU with OpenAI to study the development of an AI data center in Korea. Samsung C&T, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Samsung SDS will also evaluate potential projects for additional data center capacity.
Both Samsung and SK Telecom also plan to integrate ChatGPT Enterprise and API tools into their internal operations to streamline workflows and support new applications, the U.S. AI firm said.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said: “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.”
SKT chairman Chey Tae-won added: “Partnering on Stargate represents a landmark moment for SK and the official starting point for comprehensive technological innovation, with SK bringing powerful synergies across the full AI stack—memory semiconductors, data centers, energy, and networks. As primary partners, SK and OpenAI will jointly drive global AI infrastructure innovation through expanding collaboration spanning infrastructure, model development, applications, and breakthrough research on next-generation AI computing solutions.”
Earlier this year, SK Group confirmed it will build a data center in the city of Ulsan, South Korea for a new AWS AI Zone that will help organizations in the Asian nation build innovative and new artificial intelligence applications locally.
The Korean conglomarate noted that the AI Zone will include dedicated AWS AI infrastructure and servers with world-class semiconductors, UltraCluster networks for faster AI training and inference, AWS services like Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Bedrock and AI application services such as Amazon Q to advance Korea’s mission to be a world leader in the AI field.
The data center in Ulsan is scheduled to starts operations by 2027 and is expected to generate up to 78,000 direct and indirect jobs over time as the data center scales and operations expand. The AI Zone in Ulsan will combine capabilities from SK Group and AWS through a 15-year partnership to provide top-tier network operations, a semiconductor supply chain and efficient power infrastructure. This partnership is in addition to AWS’s long-term US$5.88 billion planned investment in Korea by 2027.
