Sam Altman Flew to Seoul Unannounced to Meet Samsung

Sam Altman made an unannounced trip to South Korea and met about 50 Samsung executives.

According to CNBC, the OpenAI CEO met the Samsung executives on Saturday in Yongin, south of Seoul. Samsung said the discussions covered AI developments, business opportunities and AI's impact on corporate decision-making. Tom's Hardware reports Samsung stressed AI transformation rather than announcing a new memory supply agreement. No deal terms were provided.

South Korean media, cited by CNBC, also report Altman had lunch with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. That is unconfirmed: SK Hynix told CNBC it could not confirm the meeting.

Tom's Hardware, citing Bloomberg, links the visit to expanding AI and memory capacity amid memory shortages, and cites Trendforce's estimate that DRAM supply will fall 1% to 2% short of demand this year. Samsung said the meeting focused on existing ties, including an October 2025 letter of intent on AI infrastructure and memory chip supply for OpenAI's Stargate project.

What to watch: whether any agreement is announced, and whether SK confirms the reported meeting.

The facts we checked

According to CNBC and Tom's Hardware (citing Bloomberg). The SK Group meeting is based on South Korean media reports cited by CNBC and is unconfirmed.

1. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made an unannounced visit to South Korea over the weekend.Reported · CNBC
2. Altman met around 50 Samsung executives from businesses spanning electronics, finance and biotechnology on Saturday, Samsung said.Fact · CNBC
3. The Samsung meeting took place in Yongin, south of Seoul, at Samsung's Resources Development Center.Fact · CNBC; Tom's Hardware
4. Samsung said the discussions covered AI developments, potential business opportunities and the technology's impact on corporate decision-making and operations.Fact · CNBC
5. Samsung emphasized AI transformation and future business opportunities rather than announcing a new memory supply agreement. No deal terms were provided.Reported · Tom's Hardware
6. South Korean media reported that Altman also had lunch with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, with senior SK Hynix and SK Telecom executives in attendance. This is unconfirmed.Reported · CNBC
7. SK Hynix told CNBC it was unable to confirm the reported meeting.Fact · CNBC
8. Local media reports said the SK sides may have discussed AI chips and data center cooperation. The participants did not provide details of the discussions.Reported · CNBC
9. Tom's Hardware, citing Bloomberg, links the visit to the company seeking to expand its AI and memory capacity amid memory shortages.Reported · Tom's Hardware
10. Samsung said the meeting centered on strengthening existing ties, including a letter of intent signed in October 2025 to cooperate on AI infrastructure, including memory chip supply for OpenAI's Stargate project.Reported · Tom's Hardware
11. Altman also visited South Korea in October 2025 and announced partnerships with Samsung and SK Group under OpenAI's Stargate initiative.Fact · CNBC
12. Altman left South Korea on Saturday, according to local media reports.Reported · CNBC
13. Trendforce estimates DRAM supply will fall 1% to 2% short of demand this year.Figure · Tom's Hardware

Sources

• CNBCSam Altman makes surprise South Korea visit as OpenAI builds on chip partnerships
• Tom's HardwareSam Altman meets with Samsung leadership to secure more RAM for data centers amid crushing shortages