SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Yonhap) — Sam Altman, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) company OpenAI, will visit South Korea this week for an event with local developers amid an intensifying global AI race, industry sources said Monday.
OpenAI will hold the “Builder Lab” event in Seoul on Tuesday, bringing together South Korean AI companies and startups, with Altman in attendance, according to the sources.
It will be Altman’s third visit to South Korea, following his latest trip here in January 2024, when he toured Samsung Electronics Co.’s production facility in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul.
His Seoul visit is drawing close attention as the global AI industry is undergoing seismic shifts, particularly after the recent launch of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s latest models.
Altman is expected to announce collaboration with South Korean tech company Kakao Corp. on Tuesday. Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a is scheduled to hold a press conference on the same day.
Kakao introduced its new integrated AI brand, Kanana, last year and plans to launch its service later in 2025. Industry sources predict that Kakao will integrate OpenAI’s model into its AI platform.
Beyond those events, Altman is expected to meet with South Korean business leaders, including SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, to explore potential AI collaborations.
Altman and Chey previously met two times last year.
The OpenAI CEO is also expected to have talks with officials from Samsung Electronics, but it was still not clear whether Altman will meet with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during a business event in Seoul on June 9, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
brk@yna.co.kr
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