OpenAI and Samsung Expand Partnership in Chips and Enterprise AI
OpenAI and South Korea's Samsung are expanding their partnership into chip manufacturing, AI infrastructure, and enterprise ChatGPT adoption, with South Korea boasting the largest paid subscriber base outside the US.
OpenAI and South Korean technology giant Samsung are significantly expanding their collaboration, deepening ties in the fields of semiconductors, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and enterprise deployment of ChatGPT. Among other initiatives, the companies are advancing joint research and manufacturing of next-generation chips as part of OpenAI's efforts to develop hardware infrastructure tailored to future AI requirements.
According to a Reuters report, Harrison Kim, CEO of OpenAI Korea, stated during a press conference in Seoul that one of the areas where significant progress has been recorded is the joint research and manufacturing of the new chips. However, he did not provide further details regarding the agreement structure or its financial scope.
Hardware Development and Stargate Project
This move aligns with OpenAI's broader effort to build independent hardware capabilities. In June, the company unveiled its first in-house developed AI chip, Jalapeno, designed for AI model inference tasks. The chip was developed in partnership with Broadcom and is scheduled to be manufactured by Taiwan's TSMC. Concurrently, Samsung and SK Hynix have already signed letters of intent to supply advanced memory chips for the Stargate project, OpenAI's major data center infrastructure initiative.
Alongside hardware cooperation, Samsung itself has become one of the largest enterprise users of ChatGPT globally. Company employees utilize the tool in areas such as research and development, marketing, and sales. Within the Device Experience division, which oversees smartphones, televisions, and home appliances, employees are permitted to use both ChatGPT and competing models, including Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude.
Enterprise Growth and South Korean Market
Connections between OpenAI and the South Korean market are also strengthening on a business level. According to the company, the number of ChatGPT Enterprise users across businesses and institutions in the country surged 28-fold within a single year, as of the end of August. Usage is shifting from ad-hoc tasks to deep integration across departments such as legal, finance, marketing, sales, and operations.
OpenAI expects this trend to accelerate following the launch of GPT-6 Astra on September 4, noting performance improvements in computer operation, professional workflows, science, coding, and cybersecurity. According to OpenAI, South Korea boasts the largest base of paid ChatGPT subscribers outside of the United States.
Samsung stated that it cannot confirm or disclose details concerning its clients. Thus, while OpenAI expands its footprint in semiconductors and infrastructure, Samsung is emerging as a critical partner in both hardware manufacturing and the corporate adoption of artificial intelligence tools.
