South Korea Unveils $950 Billion AI Push With Samsung, SK Group and U.S. Tech Firms
South Korea has announced new artificial intelligence initiatives valued at $950 billion, bringing together Samsung Electronics, SK Group and several leading U.S. technology companies. The agreements come as global AI leaders race to secure faster semiconductor supplies to meet soaring demand for advanced AI systems and computing infrastructure.
The announcement followed an AI summit hosted by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in San Francisco. According to the presidential Blue House, SK Group signed agreements worth $750 billion, including a partnership between SK Hynix and Nvidia valued at more than $500 billion.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics confirmed it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Broadcom covering projects worth up to $200 billion. The agreement includes cooperation on memory chips, foundry services and advanced packaging technologies.
AI Partnerships Target Chip Supply
The latest agreements reflect growing efforts by AI companies to secure long-term semiconductor supplies as demand continues to outpace production capacity. As a result, technology firms are strengthening partnerships with South Korea’s leading semiconductor and memory manufacturers.
Speaking at the summit, President Lee said South Korea aims to lead a new era of artificial intelligence alongside global technology companies by expanding its “dynamic AI ecosystem” and supporting wider industrial and consumer AI adoption.
He also introduced the “San Francisco AI Declaration”, outlining South Korea’s ambitions to deepen technological cooperation with the United States.
“I’d like to present a vision for the future of AI and propose global cooperation to make it happen,” Lee said.
In addition, Lee held separate meetings with Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman, Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei and Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan before joining the summit.
The event was also attended by Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung and Naver founder Lee Hae-jin.
Nvidia and SK Group Expand AI Infrastructure
Nvidia and SK Group announced a separate AI initiative valued at $500 billion focused on large-scale AI data centres and next-generation memory technologies.
The partnership includes long-term cooperation with SK Hynix to secure supplies of next-generation memory for Nvidia while jointly developing high-bandwidth memory for AI training, AI agents and physical AI applications.
As part of the agreement, SK Telecom plans to build a 2-gigawatt AI data centre powered by Nvidia’s Vera Rubin chips and SK Hynix’s HBM4 high-bandwidth memory. The facility is scheduled to begin operations in 2027.
Samsung Electronics also said it would collaborate with Broadcom on the development of a next-generation AI accelerator using Samsung’s HBM technology. Furthermore, Samsung will provide Broadcom with sub-2-nanometre foundry manufacturing and advanced packaging services.
Chip Demand Continues to Rise
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said customer demand for AI memory had exceeded earlier expectations following discussions with Nvidia, Anthropic, OpenAI and Broadcom.
He suggested Nvidia’s projected memory requirements over the next five years could increase even further.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if, the next time I see (Huang), he’ll tell me those figures were too low and say, ‘I want more,'” Chey said.
Chey added that Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan had indicated the company’s future memory requirements were likely to exceed available supply. He also said Anthropic had been regularly checking future chip availability as it expands from developing AI models to building computing capacity.
According to Chey, OpenAI will require enormous computing resources and has urged SK Group to supply chips directly to the ChatGPT developer.
He also said Anthropic was developing its own “computing power” without providing further details. The comment could relate to a previously reported plan that the AI company is exploring the possibility of designing its own chips.
An Anthropic spokesperson said the company continually evaluates different options and uses a diverse mix of chips for its computing needs.
Amodei did not comment on the reported chip design plans. However, he confirmed that Anthropic had signed supply agreements with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix without disclosing additional details.
In May, Anthropic raised funding at a post-money valuation of $965 billion. At the time, it identified Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron as key partners whose technologies support the supply of memory, storage and logic chips.
South Korea Strengthens Its AI Strategy
President Lee is also scheduled to attend a Silicon Valley meeting involving South Korea’s National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest pension fund, and U.S.-based venture capital firms to encourage greater investment in South Korean startups.
The latest announcements highlight Lee’s efforts to attract global investment and technology partners while advancing one of the world’s most ambitious state-backed AI strategies.
Last month, Lee unveiled three major state-led initiatives centred on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The projects aim to develop semiconductor manufacturing clusters, physical AI ecosystems and AI data centres as part of a broader industrial strategy involving more than $576 billion in investment.
With inputs from Reuters