OpenAI has partnered with Samsung Electronics and SK as part of its Stargate initiative to expand its AI infrastructure globally and in Korea.

The Stargate project was a new company announced by OpenAI earlier in January that planned to invest $500 billion over the next four years to build AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the US.

As part of the partnership, Samsung Electronics and SK will ramp up production of advanced memory chip that are critical for powering OpenAI's AI models, the US-based AI startup said in a  blogpost.

The announcement followed a meeting between President Lee Jae-myung, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the Presidential Office in Seoul.

The partnership also involves a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT)  to evaluate opportunities for building AI data centers outside the Seoul Metropolitan Area.

Notably, Samsung and SK also will explore if they could  deploy ChatGPT Enterprise and API capabilities into their operations.

“Korea has all the ingredients to be a global leader in AI—incredible tech talent, world-class infrastructure, strong government support, and a thriving AI ecosystem," said Sam Altman, CEO and co-founder, OpenAI.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee noted that the industry must collaborate to effectively chart the future as the world is at a pivotal moment with the advent of AI.