Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have signed letters of intent to supply memory chips for OpenAI’s data centers, a move that not only deepens their role in the U.S.-backed Stargate project but also redefines South Korea’s trade position in Asia’s increasingly competitive semiconductor race.
The agreements, announced Wednesday after a high-level meeting in Seoul between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, and the chairmen of Samsung and SK Hynix, position Seoul at the heart of what is set to become the world’s largest AI infrastructure project.
According to Reuters, OpenAI will also partner with the two chipmakers to build a “Korean-style Stargate,” including two new data centers in South Korea. The country, already home to the second-largest base of paying ChatGPT subscribers after the United States, is now anchoring itself as Asia’s AI hub.
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South Korea’s top presidential adviser, Kim Yong-beom, said OpenAI plans to order 900,000 semiconductor wafers in 2029, with Samsung and SK Hynix jointly managing supply. Analysts estimate that the order could be worth more than 100 trillion won ($70 billion), though the final figure will fluctuate with global memory market cycles.
Initial data center capacity in Korea will begin at 20 megawatts, with Seoul signaling its willingness to co-finance if needed.
“The significant part of the Stargate project would be impossible without memory chips from the two companies,” Kim told reporters.
South Korea’s Leverage Against Taiwan and Japan
The agreement underscores South Korea’s comparative edge in the AI economy. While Taiwan’s TSMC dominates the global market for logic chips — the processors that power AI training models — its strength lies in advanced fabrication of CPUs and GPUs, not memory. By contrast, Samsung and SK Hynix command about 70% of the DRAM market and nearly 80% of the HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) market.
HBM has become critical in AI systems, allowing vast datasets to be processed efficiently while reducing energy consumption. With Nvidia pledging $100 billion to support OpenAI and relying heavily on HBM chips, Korea’s suppliers are becoming indispensable to AI infrastructure in ways even TSMC cannot replicate.
Japan, once a leader in the memory industry, has struggled to keep pace. Firms like Kioxia and Renesas remain important players but lack the scale and cutting-edge dominance of Samsung and SK Hynix. Analysts note that while Japan has leaned heavily on government subsidies to revive chip production, Seoul’s firms are cementing global leadership through billion-dollar AI partnerships.
“Korea has an industrial base like nowhere else in the world that is critical for the development of AI,” Altman said during his meeting with President Lee. “To get to work with such wonderful partners, Samsung and Hynix, really starting with memory, is essential to serving the world’s demand for AI.”
Beyond Chips: Korea as a Full-Spectrum AI Hub
Samsung Electronics’ affiliate Samsung SDS also signed a partnership with OpenAI to co-develop and operate AI data centers under Stargate. Meanwhile, Samsung Heavy Industries and Samsung C&T will build floating offshore data centers, designed to reduce cooling costs and carbon emissions.
These moves suggest South Korea is not just supplying chips but embedding itself across the AI infrastructure stack, from semiconductors to physical data centers, further strengthening its trade position compared to Taiwan and Japan.
The deal follows President Donald Trump’s unveiling of the $500 billion Stargate project in January, aimed at securing U.S. dominance in AI through global partnerships. Alongside South Korea, Stargate partners include SoftBank (9434.T), Oracle, and Nvidia.
Other tech giants are also circling the Korean market. Google is in talks with several South Korean companies for AI partnerships, while SK Group in June announced a 7 trillion won investment — including $4 billion from Amazon Web Services — to build a data center in the country.
Bubble Concerns Linger
Despite optimism, investors have raised concerns about the sheer scale of spending, warning of a potential AI bubble. The Stargate project has already been delayed by extended negotiations over financing and site selection, SoftBank’s CFO revealed in August.
Yet for South Korea, the risks are outweighed by the opportunity to cement itself as Asia’s indispensable AI partner. While Taiwan remains the logic chip powerhouse and Japan rebuilds its legacy industries, Seoul’s dominance in memory chips and new data infrastructure is expected to reshape the balance of trade across the region.