[Chiptok] Altman's Greatest 'AI Alliance' Audition, This Time Intel

Attending Intel Event on 21st
Presentation on Importance of Semiconductors in AI Field
Meeting with CEO Gelsinger
Visited Samsung and SK Last Month
Seeking Companies to Collaborate on AI Semiconductor Development
Promoting Public and Private Cooperation

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is looking for companies to collaborate on developing its own artificial intelligence (AI) chips, is now set to meet with the American semiconductor company Intel.

According to foreign media and the AI industry on the 5th, Altman will attend the ‘IFS Direct Connect event’ held on the 21st at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. This event, hosted by Intel, introduces the operational strategy and portfolio of its foundry service (IFS) to customers and is being held for the first time this year. Altman is expected to take the stage to present how important semiconductors are in the AI field. He will also have a meeting with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger. Gelsinger wrote on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), "I look forward to exchanging views with Altman on the role of semiconductors."

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

U.S. semiconductor company Intel
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Altman’s visit to Intel follows his all-around activities after visiting South Korea on the 26th of last month. Altman is planning to develop his own AI semiconductor to reduce dependence on NVIDIA, the American semiconductor company currently dominating the global AI semiconductor market, and is seeking companies to collaborate with. He has been meeting global semiconductor companies both publicly and privately to pursue cooperation plans. Some in the industry have described Altman’s efforts as holding the ‘largest AI audition on earth.’ Foreign media and the business community in Korea are closely watching the decisions Altman will make following this audition.

Why Do We Focus on Altman?

Altman is known as the father of the conversational AI service ‘ChatGPT.’ This title naturally comes from his role as CEO of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. As ChatGPT has effectively ushered in the AI era and left a strong impression worldwide, attention on Altman has significantly increased.

However, the fact that global companies want to meet Altman and that the global financial markets fluctuate according to his movements cannot be explained simply by his success as the CEO behind ChatGPT. Summarizing foreign media and business evaluations, Altman joined the startup accelerator ‘Y Combinator’ in 2011 and achieved near-mythical accomplishments by becoming CEO of OpenAI, becoming a role model for startup entrepreneurs not only in the United States but also in Korea. His reputation and capabilities have been a driving force for many to follow him. In November last year, when rumors spread that Altman would leave OpenAI after being fired and join Microsoft (MS), the majority of OpenAI employees threatened collective action by saying they would quit and follow him to MS. This incident was resolved when Altman immediately returned to OpenAI. Analysts say that this episode, where Altman was rehired shortly after being fired, further increased global AI industry interest in him.

There are also stories that Altman’s usual words and actions have left a strong impression on the global industry. Despite being a CEO who develops and sells AI technology, Altman has drawn attention by emphasizing the need for legal regulations to prevent AI side effects. In May last year, he appeared before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, expressing concerns about the proliferation of misinformation caused by AI and stating, "Government and international community intervention is necessary for the safe operation of AI," emphasizing that "government intervention will be important to reduce the increasing risks of AI."

Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix. Graphic by Kim Dahee

Attention on Samsung and SK’s Moves After Meeting Altman

With Altman set to meet Intel, the business community is also focusing on the moves of Samsung Electronics and SK, who met with him just prior. Kyung Kye-hyun, President of Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions (DS) division, who reportedly met Altman during his visit to Korea, said at a management briefing for employees on the 31st of last month, "We all need to come together to restore top-level competitiveness in memory semiconductor technology." The business community interprets this statement as reflecting Samsung Electronics’ difficulties in next-generation markets such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a new technology for AI semiconductors. According to market research firm Statista, as of the third quarter of last year, the market share gap between Samsung Electronics, ranked first in the DRAM market, and SK Hynix, ranked second, narrowed to 4.6 percentage points. As the gap with competitors narrows, Samsung faces the risk of losing its ultra-gap technological competitiveness, and President Kyung’s message appears to be aimed at motivating employees to overcome this challenge.

SK Hynix is reportedly considering building a new packaging plant in Indiana, USA, which is home to many advanced facilities. According to local U.S. media such as the Financial Times (FT), SK Hynix’s new packaging plant in Indiana will focus on stacking standard dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips to produce high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. These will later be integrated with NVIDIA’s graphics processing units (GPUs). Currently, SK Hynix transports HBM chips produced in Korea to Taiwan, where they are integrated with NVIDIA’s GPUs alongside other manufacturing processes at TSMC.