[Herald Economy=Reporter Kwon Je-in] Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI and the founder of ChatGPT’s developer, is visiting Korea to unexpectedly form an alliance with Kakao. Furthermore, he will host a closed workshop for developers for the first time in Korea and meet with SK’s Chairman Chey Tae-won to discuss AI cooperation plans.
According to related industries on the 3rd, OpenAI will hold a closed workshop called ‘Builder Lab’ at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul on the 4th, targeting 100 domestic company and startup developers. This event, being held for the first time in Korea, is expected to be attended by Altman CEO and several high-ranking officials from the company.
This is Altman’s third visit to Korea. He first visited Korea in June 2023 at the invitation of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and visited the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek plant in January last year. Notably, his visit draws attention as it comes at a time when the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s shock wave is sweeping the world.
During his visit, Altman is expected to make an announcement about the collaboration with Kakao and make a surprise appearance at the press conference of Kakao’s CEO, Jeonguskina, held at the same venue. Kakao unveiled its own AI service ‘Kanana’ last year and is preparing for its official launch this year. Instead of developing an independent massive language model, it has confirmed its strategy to implement ‘model orchestration’ by selecting and customizing various existing AI models as needed.
With the two sides unexpectedly joining hands this time, it is speculated that Kakao will actively utilize the OpenAI model in its own model. It is predicted that the two sides will pursue extensive cooperation in joint development and joint business in the Korean and Asian markets. It is reported that Altman and CEO Jeong have already met in advance to coordinate related work agreements.
Altman will also meet with SK Group’s Chairman Chey Tae-won on the same day to discuss AI cooperation plans between the two companies. Chairman Chey previously met with CEO Altman during his visit to Korea in January last year at the Walkerhill Hotel and again at the OpenAI headquarters in San Francisco during his visit to the U.S. in June of the same year, discussing the rapidly evolving AI technology and the future of the AI industry.
A meeting with Samsung Electronics executives is also reportedly scheduled. However, whether he will meet with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong is not yet confirmed. During his visit to Korea in January last year, Altman visited the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek plant to tour the semiconductor production line and met with business division heads, including Kyeong-seok Kyung, then head of the Device Solutions (DS) division.
Altman, currently visiting Japan, is scheduled to leave for India immediately after completing his schedule in Korea, continuing his tour of Asia. In an interview with Nikkei, Altman expressed his intention to develop AI-dedicated devices that could replace smartphones and independent semiconductors.
Currently, OpenAI has established branches in Japan and Singapore in the Asia region. The possibility of establishing a branch in Korea within this year is being strongly considered. OpenAI signed a business agreement in November last year with the Korea Development Bank on financial cooperation regarding the development of a domestic data center.