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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to Meet Silicon Valley AI Leaders in San Francisco
On Friday, South Korean President Lee Jae‑Myung will jet to San Francisco as part of a five‑nation itinerary that also takes him to Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Germany. The presidential office said the trip will focus on strengthening South Korea’s foothold in the global artificial‑intelligence arena.
In the city’s tech hub, Lee is slated to sit down with the CEOs of four leading AI firms: Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, and Broadcom’s Hock Tan. National Security Adviser Wi Sung‑lac and chief of staff Kim Yong‑bum said the meetings aim to secure investment partnerships and deepen cooperation with the tech giants.
The same day, Lee will attend the San Francisco AI Summit. He is expected to converse with Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae‑yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae‑won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Eui‑sun, and Naver Board Chair Lee Hae‑jin. A round‑table will focus on collaboration in memory‑chip production, GPU infrastructure, and generative‑AI services.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix already supply high‑bandwidth memory (HBM) to Nvidia. Their HBM4 chips are slated for use in Nvidia’s upcoming AI accelerator, Vera Rubin, expected to launch in the second half of 2026. The two Korean firms also supply memory for OpenAI’s proprietary AI chips and signed an agreement last year to provide high‑performance memory for OpenAI’s Stargate infrastructure project.
Beyond memory, Samsung is manufacturing Nvidia’s inference‑focused language‑processing unit, Grok 3, and is in talks with Anthropic to produce AI chips on its 2‑nanometer process. Naver is set to discuss its “AI factory” initiative, which integrates GPU servers, data centers, and power‑cooling infrastructure with AI models and cloud technology.
Industry observers describe the gathering as unprecedented because it brings together the world’s two largest memory‑chip makers, the AI‑chip leader Nvidia, and generative‑AI developers Naver, OpenAI, and Anthropic. The meeting could help address concerns about a potential AI peak‑out and the projected persistence of memory shortages into 2027.
According to the presidential office, the summit will also witness the signing of partnership agreements between Korean firms and the tech giants. Lee is expected to proclaim that Korea will become an “irreplaceable” state in the global AI mainstream.
The event follows a visit by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to Korea a month ago, during which he met with Samsung, SK, Hyundai, LG, and Naver leaders. The recent U.S. meeting reaffirms Nvidia’s commitment to strengthening ties with Korean companies that are increasingly viewed as essential partners in the AI infrastructure ecosystem.
While the summit signals continued demand for AI infrastructure, it also highlights the strategic role of Korean companies across the AI value chain. The collaboration could provide a clearer roadmap for AI infrastructure investment and concrete directions for future cooperation.
At present, the outcome of the meetings remains to be seen. The Korean president’s visit is part of a broader effort to secure investment and partnership agreements that could shape the next phase of AI development. The summit will conclude on Friday, and the Korean delegation will return to Seoul on Saturday.
The event underscores the growing importance of Korean firms in the AI supply chain and the continued interest of U.S. tech leaders in Korean memory‑chip and GPU capabilities.
In the city’s tech hub, Lee is slated to sit down with the CEOs of four leading AI firms: Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, and Broadcom’s Hock Tan. National Security Adviser Wi Sung‑lac and chief of staff Kim Yong‑bum said the meetings aim to secure investment partnerships and deepen cooperation with the tech giants.
The same day, Lee will attend the San Francisco AI Summit. He is expected to converse with Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae‑yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae‑won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Eui‑sun, and Naver Board Chair Lee Hae‑jin. A round‑table will focus on collaboration in memory‑chip production, GPU infrastructure, and generative‑AI services.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix already supply high‑bandwidth memory (HBM) to Nvidia. Their HBM4 chips are slated for use in Nvidia’s upcoming AI accelerator, Vera Rubin, expected to launch in the second half of 2026. The two Korean firms also supply memory for OpenAI’s proprietary AI chips and signed an agreement last year to provide high‑performance memory for OpenAI’s Stargate infrastructure project.
Beyond memory, Samsung is manufacturing Nvidia’s inference‑focused language‑processing unit, Grok 3, and is in talks with Anthropic to produce AI chips on its 2‑nanometer process. Naver is set to discuss its “AI factory” initiative, which integrates GPU servers, data centers, and power‑cooling infrastructure with AI models and cloud technology.
Industry observers describe the gathering as unprecedented because it brings together the world’s two largest memory‑chip makers, the AI‑chip leader Nvidia, and generative‑AI developers Naver, OpenAI, and Anthropic. The meeting could help address concerns about a potential AI peak‑out and the projected persistence of memory shortages into 2027.
According to the presidential office, the summit will also witness the signing of partnership agreements between Korean firms and the tech giants. Lee is expected to proclaim that Korea will become an “irreplaceable” state in the global AI mainstream.
The event follows a visit by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to Korea a month ago, during which he met with Samsung, SK, Hyundai, LG, and Naver leaders. The recent U.S. meeting reaffirms Nvidia’s commitment to strengthening ties with Korean companies that are increasingly viewed as essential partners in the AI infrastructure ecosystem.
While the summit signals continued demand for AI infrastructure, it also highlights the strategic role of Korean companies across the AI value chain. The collaboration could provide a clearer roadmap for AI infrastructure investment and concrete directions for future cooperation.
At present, the outcome of the meetings remains to be seen. The Korean president’s visit is part of a broader effort to secure investment and partnership agreements that could shape the next phase of AI development. The summit will conclude on Friday, and the Korean delegation will return to Seoul on Saturday.
The event underscores the growing importance of Korean firms in the AI supply chain and the continued interest of U.S. tech leaders in Korean memory‑chip and GPU capabilities.
