Samsung Electronics (KRX: 005930) and SK Hynix (KRX: 000660) have taken a significant step with OpenAI by signing letters of intent to supply the company with advanced memory chips crucial for its expanding data center operations. This move underpins OpenAI’s ambitious Stargate initiative, a $500 billion investment project announced earlier this year, aimed at drastically increasing global AI infrastructure.
The announcement came after a high-profile meeting in Seoul involving OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, and the leaders of Samsung and SK Hynix. The collaboration represents more than just a supply contract: it is a coordinated effort that aligns OpenAI’s aggressive growth plans with South Korea’s goal of becoming a global leader in AI technology and semiconductor manufacturing.
OpenAI is targeting the procurement of up to 900,000 memory chip wafers per month by 2029 as part of this partnership. Samsung and SK Hynix are reorganizing their production capacities to meet this demand, focusing on high-bandwidth DRAM chips specifically tailored for AI workloads. These chips are essential components that power the massive data centers required to support OpenAI’s next-generation artificial intelligence models.
In addition to providing chips, SK Group plans to establish OpenAI-dedicated data centers in South Korea’s southwestern region, which reflects a broader strategy to expand AI infrastructure not only in the United States but also internationally. Samsung SDS, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, intends to introduce OpenAI’s enterprise AI services within South Korea, further embedding the AI ecosystem domestically.
This partnership takes place against the backdrop of the Stargate project’s broader ambitions. First announced by President Trump in January 2025, Stargate aims to invest $500 billion to build up to 20 ultra-large AI data centers primarily across the United States, but with international collaborations like this adding to its global infrastructure footprint. The project is a public-private effort involving OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, all working to maintain U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence and accelerate advanced computing capacity. As part of the project, Nvidia has also committed to invest $100 billion in OpenAI, supplying GPU hardware critical for AI computations.
Beyond the clear business and technological advantages, this pact has strategic economic and geopolitical implications. South Korea is asserting itself as a key partner in the evolving AI supply chain, which may help ease some of the tariff and trade tensions currently present in U.S.-Korea relations. By becoming a critical supplier and hosting AI data centers, Korean companies stand to benefit from expanded exports and domestic job creation related to AI infrastructure.
The investment and construction related to AI data centers linked to Stargate are poised to create tens of thousands of jobs and bolster regional economic growth, especially beyond Seoul, where the South Korean government encourages balanced development. The plan aligns with President Lee’s vision that semiconductors and AI development are inseparable industries where South Korea can make a global impact.
The supply agreements with Samsung and SK Hynix will help ensure a steady flow of high-performance chips necessary to keep pace with the rapid scaling of AI services worldwide. This is particularly important as demand for AI grows exponentially, requiring infrastructure that can handle the intense computing loads generated by large language models and other AI applications.
As OpenAI’s investment reaches deeper into international markets like South Korea, the company’s strategy reflects the breadth of collaboration necessary to build out the next wave of AI infrastructure. Partnering with firms that lead in semiconductor manufacturing, and strategically placing data centers globally, creates a resilient and capable ecosystem for AI development.
This agreement highlights how essential semiconductor supply chains are to the future of artificial intelligence. With chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix ramping up production to support AI’s growing appetite for advanced memory technology, the partnership forms a foundation that could power AI innovations for years to come.
The scale of this initiative, combined with the global industrial collaboration it fosters, underscores the vast resources and strategic focus behind AI’s next phase. OpenAI’s work with South Korea’s top chipmakers is not just about expanding capacity, it’s about building the backbone for an AI-powered future in which hardware and software co-evolve at an unprecedented scale.
