NVIDIA, TSMC and Other Big Tech Gather... Chey Tae-won Says Cooperation Needed for AI Future (Comprehensive)

'SK AI Summit 2024' at Seoul COEX
Keynote Speech by SK Chairman Chey Tae-won
Collaboration with NVIDIA, MS, TSMC, and OpenAI
Video Messages from Major CEOs including Jensen Huang
NVIDIA Requests to Accelerate HBM4 Schedule
SK Hynix Shares Anecdote: "We'll Give It a Try"

SK Group showcased its collaboration with global artificial intelligence (AI) leaders at the 'SK AI Summit 2024' and emphasized that to lead the AI era, it is essential to establish close relationships and interact with these leaders.

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, stated at the 'SK AI Summit 2024' held at COEX in Seoul on the morning of the 4th, "The future of AI requires the cooperation of many people," adding, "SK is engaged in extensive collaboration discussions with NVIDIA, Microsoft (MS), TSMC, and OpenAI."

At the SK AI Summit, which opened on the 4th at COEX in Seoul, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won is delivering the opening speech. Photo by Heo Young-han

Chairman Choi noted that there is still much unknown about AI and that cooperation among companies and leaders from various fields is essential to positively drive change through AI. Diagnosing that "there are several bottlenecks that must be resolved for AI to continue growing," he stressed the need to address five key challenges: the lack of representative use cases and revenue models to recoup AI investments, shortages in AI accelerators and semiconductor supply, insufficient advanced manufacturing process facilities, energy (power) supply issues for operating AI infrastructure, and the challenge of securing high-quality data.

Chairman Choi said, "SK is a rare company worldwide capable of everything from semiconductors to energy, data center construction and operation, and service development," adding, "We will combine various solutions from SK and our partners to solve AI bottlenecks and accelerate global AI innovation."

He also provided specific details about cooperation with global big tech companies. Chairman Choi said, "MS is an important customer of SK Hynix's high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and a partner with whom we are discussing collaboration related to our AI data centers and energy solutions," adding, "To achieve carbon neutrality and data center expansion goals, MS and SK have jointly invested in nuclear energy companies."

He shared an anecdote about a recent meeting with Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, revealing that NVIDIA specifically requested to expedite the supply of next-generation HBM. Chairman Choi said, "Whenever a new graphics processing unit (GPU) is released, NVIDIA demands more HBM from SK Hynix and always asks to advance the agreed schedule," adding, "Jensen Huang is an engineer at heart and is like a 'ppalli-ppalli' (quickly-quickly) Korean." He continued, "During our last meeting, he asked to bring forward the supply of HBM4 by six months."

Chairman Choi recalled, "I replied that it was not something I could do but that it should be handled by someone who could. I looked at Kwak No-jung, President of SK Hynix, and asked if it was possible, to which he responded, 'We will do our best,'" he said with a smile.

CEO Huang, in a video dialogue that day, emphasized, "AI still requires higher-performance memory," urging, "SK Hynix's aggressive product launch plans must be realized quickly." SK Hynix began delivering the 5th generation HBM, HBM3E 8-stack, to NVIDIA, a major customer in the AI semiconductor market, in March, and last month started the world's first mass production of the HBM3E 12-stack product, aiming for shipment in the fourth quarter. The HBM4 12-stack product, originally scheduled for release in the second half of next year, may be shipped in the same period following Jensen Huang's request.

At the SK AI Summit, which opened on the 4th at COEX in Seoul, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won is delivering the opening speech. Photo by Heo Young-han

He also emphasized the partnership with Taiwan's TSMC, the number one foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) company. Chairman Choi explained, "No matter how good a chip design is, it is meaningless if it cannot be actually manufactured," adding, "SK is working closely with NVIDIA and TSMC to address the global shortage of AI chips." He added, "TSMC is an ideal partner," and "SK Hynix is leading AI innovation through trilateral cooperation with NVIDIA and TSMC."

Wei Zhejia, CEO of TSMC, said in a video message that day, "Let's create scalable and sustainable solutions together to accelerate AI innovation and build a better future." Satya Nadella, CEO of MS, expressed, "I look forward to building a strong AI ecosystem in Korea and worldwide through continued partnerships."

Meanwhile, Greg Brockman, Chairman and President of OpenAI, took the stage in person that day to participate in an on-site discussion on the theme of 'The Future of AI.' The SK AI Summit, held under the theme 'AI Together, AI Tomorrow' until the 5th, is the largest AI symposium ever organized in Korea, inviting leading AI companies, scholars, and experts worldwide either on-site or via video conference.