OpenAI Expands Samsung Partnership to Develop Next-Generation AI Chips

OpenAI is expanding its partnership with Samsung Electronics beyond memory supply and enterprise AI. The companies are now collaborating on the development of next-generation chips as OpenAI seeks to build its own processors.

"One of the areas where we have made the most progress and gained the most recognition with Samsung Electronics is our joint production and ​research on the next-generation chips we are developing," Harrison Kim, General Manager of OpenAI Korea, said at a press conference in Seoul. 

Why is OpenAI Collaborating with Samsung on Chip Development? 

According to Kim, OpenAI needs more advanced chips to support complex computing.  Growing demand for memory chips is increasingly making this a challenge, which makes the partnership with South Korean chip suppliers a priority for OpenAI. 

The AI firm unveiled the first custom AI chip called Jalapeno in June. The chip was designed by OpenAI engineers in partnership with Broadcom. Jalapeno is designed to support AI inference tasks, which involve processing data to generate responses to queries in applications such as ChatGPT. 

When unveiling the custom chip, OpenAI said it would be manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The latest cooperation builds the relationship that OpenAI already has with Samsung Electronics. Last year, the AI firm signed letters of intent with Samsung and SK Hynix to supply memory chips for the Stargate data center project. 

Growing ChatGPT Adoption in South Korea

OpenAI is strengthening its cooperation with Samsung at a time when ChatGPT adoption in South Korea is on the rise. According to the AI developer, the number of Enterprise customers in South Korean institutions and companies has increased 28-fold as of the end of August compared to the previous year. 

OpenAI attributed the growth to AI integration across enterprise functions including sales, legal, finance, operations, and marketing. Samsung has also expanded its use of generative AI this year.. In June, the chip manufacturer allowed employees in its Device eXperience division to use ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. 

Kim noted the South Korean tech company ranks among the "⁠largest-scale deployments of ChatGPT globally". He added that employees in the company’s offices in Korea and abroad use ChatGPT ​across research and development, marketing and sales.

According to the AI developer, South Korea had the largest number of paying ChatGPT users outside the U.S. in 2025. OpenAI expects AI adoption to increase following the GPT-6 Astra launch. The new AI model reportedly offers improved performance in professional work, cybersecurity, coding, and science. 

Why the Samsung Partnership Matters to OpenAI

The partnership with Samsung could strengthen OpenAI’s control over future AI infrastructure. As AI demand grows, hardware supply will become increasingly important. Stronger cooperation with Samsung will likely improve OpenAI’s access to advanced memory and chip technologies and enable the AI firm to scale its custom chip ambitions. In the long-run, the partnership could support faster, more efficient, and affordable AI systems.