OpenAI stargate partnership: Samsung and SK expand Korea AI infrastructure

OpenAI stargate partnership anchors a new Korea push: Samsung and SK join OpenAI to accelerate Stargate AI infrastructure in Korea.

What is the OpenAI stargate initiative in Korea?

The move formalizes collaboration between global AI teams and Korean industry. OpenAI signed memoranda with local partners and the Ministry of Science and ICT to assess build‑out options for AI compute outside the Seoul area. The agreements aim to spur regional growth while supporting local model deployments. For the official statement, see OpenAI’s press release..

How will the Samsung SK partnership affect Korea AI data centers?

The Samsung SK partnership combines semiconductor manufacturing strength with telco and energy services. Samsung entities such as Samsung C&T, Samsung Heavy Industries and Samsung SDS will assess site engineering and construction roles. Meanwhile, SK Telecom and other SK affiliates will evaluate networking and cloud operations to host AI workloads. Together, they can accelerate planning for korea ai data centers and for balanced regional deployment.

Who signed the deals and what was the context?

Leaders met at the Presidential Office in Seoul. President Lee Jae‑myung, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee, SK Chairman Chey Tae‑won, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman participated. The partnerships include memoranda and joint explorations rather than fully specified contracts. OpenAI said it will work with Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and MSIT through its global Stargate program.

Will this secure advanced memory chip supply and dram wafer production capacity?

Industry statements confirm a focus on expanding advanced memory chip supply to feed AI compute needs. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix plan to scale production of high‑bandwidth memory and other modules used by large AI models. However, specific monthly wafer‑start targets cited in early reports were not independently verified and are therefore omitted here. Still, the collaboration signals a clear priority on aligning memory manufacturing with AI infrastructure demand.

What role will ChatGPT enterprise integration and sk hynix memory scaling play?

Samsung and SK indicated plans to deploy ChatGPT Enterprise integration and API capabilities within their operations. This will likely reduce latency for enterprise customers and enable private deployments and workflow automation. At the same time, SK hynix memory scaling and related supply‑chain upgrades are positioned to support the higher memory footprints typical of modern large models.

Why does this matter for businesses and investors?

For enterprises, local integration offers lower latency and clearer governance. For investors, the pact may reshape regional cloud economics and favor domestic chip suppliers. In addition, the move could redirect parts of capital expenditure toward Korean data‑centre and fab expansion over the medium term.

What are the next steps and the main risks?

Plans will hinge on feasibility studies, permitting, and energy availability. Regulatory review and grid capacity are potential bottlenecks. Furthermore, timelines remain illustrative; partners said they will share further details as plans progress.

From practical experience advising large infrastructure programs, projects of this scale typically require multi‑year roadmaps, staged pilot deployments and tight vendor coordination. Pilot lines and process validation often take 12–36 months before reaching steady production. Also, data‑centre planning usually runs in parallel with long lead‑time equipment orders. Consequently, stakeholders should expect phased announcements rather than immediate rollouts.

Sam Altman said:

Jay Y. Lee commented: 

Chey Tae‑won added: