OpenAI seeks chip collaboration in South Korea to secure AI chip production amid growing shortages. (Source: Image by RR)

OpenAI’s Sam Altman Explores AI Chip Alliance with Samsung and SK Group in South Korea

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has reportedly traveled to South Korea to explore the formation of an AI semiconductor alliance and investment opportunities, according to the-decoder.com. During his visit, he met with executives from tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK Group. While not officially confirmed, it is believed that Altman is concerned about the existing and potential future shortages of chips for AI systems, which has spurred discussions about OpenAI producing its own AI chips.

Samsung and SK Group are renowned for their expertise in High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) technology, a critical component for AI chips. Altman’s visit focused on exploring potential cooperation and investment in AI chip production, with discussions centering around OpenAI’s interest in sourcing HBM from these companies.

In addition to discussions with industry leaders, Altman engaged with AI startups in South Korea that have previously collaborated with or received investments from Samsung and SK.

Altman is actively seeking major investors, including Abu Dhabi-based G42 and SoftBank Group Corp, to establish a multi-billion dollar global network of AI chip factories. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is also reportedly involved in these discussions. The resulting chip entity could operate as an independent company, with OpenAI as its primary customer, or function as a subsidiary of OpenAI.

Altman’s collaboration with ex-Apple designer Jony Ive underscores OpenAI’s ambitious goals of becoming a significant player across the entire value chain of the AI market. OpenAI’s ChatGPT has already made a strong impact by targeting both end-users and developers through its API, achieving dominance in the market with its AI models.

Read more at the-decoder.com