OpenAI deepens Samsung partnership on next-gen AI chips

OpenAI is expanding its collaboration with Samsung Electronics on the development of next-generation artificial intelligence chips, the company announced at a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday, as the ChatGPT maker moves to build out its own custom silicon and reduce its reliance on outside suppliers.

Joint Chip Research Advances

"One of the areas where we have made the most progress and gained the most recognition with Samsung Electronics is our joint production and research on the next-generation chips we are developing," Harrison Kim, General Manager of OpenAI Korea, said at the event, according to Reuters. Kim did not elaborate on the chips' specifications, production volumes, or timeline. Samsung said it could not confirm information related to customers.reuters+1

The partnership builds on OpenAI's broader push into custom chipmaking. In June, the company unveiled Jalapeno, its first dedicated AI chip, designed with Broadcom ↘ 2.62% for inference — the process of generating responses to user queries in applications like ChatGPT. OpenAI said at the time that TSMC Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited ↘ 1.20% would manufacture those chips. Samsung and SK Hynix ↘ 3.12% previously signed letters of intent to supply memory chips for OpenAI's Stargate data center project.ua+1

Kim said demand for memory chips would continue to grow as more advanced hardware was needed for faster and more complex computing, making cooperation with South Korean semiconductor suppliers a priority for OpenAI's local office.reuters

Enterprise AI Surge in South Korea

Beyond chips, the two companies are deepening ties on the enterprise AI front. Kim described Samsung as "one of the largest-scale deployments of ChatGPT globally," with employees in South Korea and abroad using the service across research and development, marketing, and sales. Samsung said in June that workers in its Device eXperience division, which oversees mobile phones, televisions, and home appliances, would be permitted to use ChatGPT, Google's Alphabet Inc. ↘ 3.58% Gemini, and Anthropic's Claude internally.finimize+1

OpenAI said the number of ChatGPT Enterprise users at South Korean companies and institutions had surged roughly 28-fold as of the end of August compared with a year earlier, as businesses expanded AI use from individual tasks to company-wide operations across legal, finance, and sales functions. South Korea had the largest number of paying ChatGPT subscribers outside the United States as of late last year, according to OpenAI.reuters+1

GPT-6 Astra Launch Fuels Momentum

OpenAI expects enterprise adoption to accelerate following the September 4 launch of GPT-6 Astra, its latest model, which the company said offered improved performance in computer use, professional work, science, coding, and cybersecurity.reuters