OpenAI’s Altman meets Samsung executives as chip crunch deepens

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is the latest American tech leader to visit South Korea, the leader in advanced memory chips.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman met with Samsung Group’s top executives in South Korea on Oct 31 to deepen cooperation on memory chips and AI infrastructure as global shortages intensify.

Samsung hosted Altman for talks with about 50 executives from its electronics, financial and biotechnology affiliates in Yongin, south of Seoul, the South Korean company said in a statement.

The discussions focused on how artificial intelligence can reshape industries, corporate decision-making and business opportunities over the next decade.

The meeting comes as shortages in a broad array of memory products strain the global electronics industry and send chip prices soaring.

Demand from data centre operators is intensifying competition for supplies, with the five biggest players in the AI infrastructure race planning to spend more than US$3 trillion (S$3.8 trillion) in the coming years.

Altman is the latest American tech leader to visit South Korea, the leader in advanced memory chips and a country where AI adoption is accelerating among businesses and consumers.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Advanced Micro Devices’ Lisa Su have both visited twice since 2025 to strengthen supply chain ties.

Technology executives have warned that chip production is struggling to keep pace with demand.

The Oct 31 meeting builds on a partnership announced earlier to supply memory chips for OpenAI’s Stargate infrastructure project and cooperate on AI data centres, including floating offshore facilities.

Samsung is also accelerating AI adoption across its businesses, from research and manufacturing to marketing and corporate operations. BLOOMBERG