
Sam Altman met with Kakao CEO Chung Shin in Seoul to announce the partnership. Kakao is the leader in South Korea’s messaging market with a 97% share and is actively developing e-commerce, financial technology and games. The company sees artificial intelligence as an important area of development, but so far it has lagged behind its competitor, Naver.
At a joint press conference, Altman also said that the Korean company will play a major role in Project Stargate, a major initiative by OpenAI and Oracle aimed at expanding artificial intelligence computing capabilities in the United States. He also met with executives from Samsung and Softbank to discuss possible collaborations. According to Altman, South Korea is a strategic market for OpenAI because of its strong semiconductor industry, developed energy infrastructure and high demand for AI solutions.
South Korea is home to some of the world’s leading chipmakers, such as Samsung and SK Hynix, and is a major hub for high-tech. At the same time, OpenAI is actively expanding its presence in Asia. The company recently announced a partnership with Softbank and is also in talks with the Indian government. The Biden administration has previously announced a $500 billion private investment in AI infrastructure.
OpenAI’s partnership with Kakao opens up new opportunities for AI development in South Korea and strengthens OpenAI’s global expansion. At the same time, the move demonstrates Asia’s growing role in cutting-edge AI technologies. The question is how willing governments and companies are to support such initiatives.