OpenAI officially inaugurated its office in Seoul this week
In sum – what to know:
OpenAI signals Korean data center plans – CSO Jason Kwon said the company is open to building local infrastructure and expanding partnerships with Samsung and SK.
Korean office launch underscores sovereign AI push – The Seoul office is OpenAI’s third in Asia and aligns with government ambitions to strengthen domestic AI sovereignty and global competitiveness.
Partnerships extend across industries – OpenAI has deals with Kakao, universities, and conglomerates, with more collaborations expected in electronics, telecom, and research.
U.S. firm OpenAI has expressed interest in constructing a data center in South Korea while strengthening partnerships with major local conglomerates, aligning with the government’s push for sovereign artificial intelligence (AI).
Korean press reports noted that the firm behind ChatGPT made the remarks on September 10, during the launch of its Korean office. At a press conference in Seoul, OpenAI’s Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon said the company is open to exploring data center opportunities and expanding cooperation with Korean firms.
“When it comes to the hardware chip side, I think we have a lot of good partnerships in motion with companies like SK and Samsung,” Kwon said. He noted that discussions with Samsung Electronics’ executive chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group’s chairman Chey Tae-won took place last month at the Korea-U.S. business roundtable in Washington, D.C.
Kwon did not specify the potential scale or timing of any Korean investment, and details on leadership and staffing for OpenAI Korea have yet to be announced. “While we don’t have anything to share today with regard to our Korean office leadership, we expect to have updates very soon,” he added.
OpenAI has already established ties with Korean industries spanning electronics, construction, telecom, finance and e-commerce. In February, it partnered with online services company Kakao to integrate ChatGPT into the company’s messaging app. This week, the AI firm will sign a memorandum of understanding with Seoul National University to conduct joint AI research, while also hosting government, academic and industry leaders to mark the Korean office opening.
OpenAI is getting ready to begin large-scale production of its own artificial intelligence chips next year, in partnership with compatriot semiconductor company Broadcom, according to a recent report by the Financial Times.
The report noted that the initiative is aimed at easing OpenAI’s reliance on U.S. chipmaker Nvidia hardware while meeting surging demand for computing capacity to train and run AI models. The chips are expected to be used internally rather than sold to external customers.
In the United States, OpenAI is working with SoftBank and Oracle on its Stargate initiative, which aims to deliver 4.5 gigawatts of capacity — an initiative unveiled by President Donald Trump in January.
The Stargate initiative has an estimated long-term cost of $500 billion; $100 billion has already been earmarked for its early phases. At its core, the Stargate scheme plans to build a network of AI data centers across the U.S. The initiative aims to provide sufficient capacity to meet growing demand for AI across sectors including scientific research, healthcare, automation, defense, and finance
The project could become the largest AI infrastructure buildout to date, spanning multiple locations and phases. It is being led by OpenAI in partnership with SoftBank and Oracle. OpenAI is contributing AI models and technical leadership, while SoftBank is providing funding and strategic support. Oracle is a key infrastructure partner.
OpenAI previously announced the launch of “OpenAI for Countries” as an initiative within the Stargate project. It has announced plans to offer formalized infrastructure partnerships with national governments, in coordination with the U.S. administration, to help build local AI data center capacity.
