Altman Makes Unannounced South Korea Trip to Build on Chip Deals

Sam Altman travelled to South Korea without a public announcement over the weekend, according to CNBC Technology, sitting down with Samsung executives and reportedly talking with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. The OpenAI chief executive's trip extends work already under way with the country's largest chip manufacturers.

Samsung said the conversations touched on artificial intelligence advances, possible commercial openings and how the technology shapes the way companies make decisions and run their operations.

South Korean press outlets reported that Altman and Chey shared a lunch on Saturday, joined by senior figures from SK Hynix and SK Telecom. Those reports suggested the group may have covered AI chip collaboration and data centre work, including existing arrangements for high-bandwidth memory supply and the building of AI data centres. None of the people involved disclosed what was actually said.

The visit is not Altman's first to the country. In October 2025 he met the country's leader, the executive chairman of Samsung Electronics and the head of SK Group, and set out partnerships with both companies as part of OpenAI's Stargate programme.

Stargate is intended to grow AI infrastructure around the world. South Korea's part in it rests on deals covering supplies of advanced memory chips and the development of AI data centres. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both laid out plans to increase output of advanced memory chips, while OpenAI and its Korean partners agreed to look into building AI data centres in the country.

OpenAI has pointed to South Korea's standing among the world's leaders in AI readiness, along with substantial funding from both the public and private sectors aimed at sharpening competitiveness, as the reasoning behind its expansion there.

The weekend trip follows a July meeting between Altman and Samsung Electronics' executive chairman at OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters, Samsung said.