OpenAI, the artificial intelligence technology developer behind ChatGPT, recently announced a collaboration to accelerate the development of its Stargate AI data center project in the United States, as well as an artificial intelligence data center in South Korea.
OpenAI CEO and founder Sam Altman recently met with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee, and SK Hynix Chairman Chey Tae-won to sign a memory chip wafer supply agreement so that OpenAI can obtain memory supplies earlier than other competitors.
Through this agreement, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are expected to produce 900,000 wafers per month specifically for OpenAI to power the Stargate data center network in the United States.
In the meantime, OpenAI has also signed new agreements with a number of South Korean companies such as SK Telecom, Samsung C&T, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Samsung SDS to open new data centers in the country. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are also said to be using ChatGPT to streamline their operations.
Sam Altman said that South Korea has enough criteria to become a leader in the AI industry, including skilled workers, world-class infrastructure, comprehensive government support and a robust AI ecosystem.
It is currently unknown how much the two companies' memory wafer sales to OpenAI will be worth, but it is expected to reach $70 billion by 2029.