September 9, 2026, (Inside AI) — OpenAI is expanding its partnership with Samsung Electronics to co-develop next-generation AI chips and deepen enterprise AI adoption, a move that tightens the bond between the ChatGPT maker and South Korea's largest technology firm.
Harrison Kim, General Manager of OpenAI Korea, confirmed the collaboration at a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday. He said the two companies are jointly producing and researching advanced chips but declined to share technical details or timelines.
"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, OpenAI Korea
Samsung Electronics did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The announcement positions Samsung as a critical partner in OpenAI's push to reduce reliance on external chip suppliers. It also signals a broader strategic alignment across hardware, memory, and enterprise software.
Samsung Becomes a Central Node in OpenAI's Hardware Ambitions
OpenAI unveiled its first custom AI chip, called Jalapeno, in June. The chip was designed with Broadcom for AI inference, the process of crunching data to answer user queries. Taiwan's TSMC was named as the manufacturer at that time.
Now Samsung appears to be stepping into a more active role. The Korean giant already signed a letter of intent last year, alongside SK Hynix, to supply memory chips for OpenAI's Stargate data center project.
Kim said demand for memory chips will keep rising as more advanced processors require faster and more complex computing. He called cooperation with South Korean semiconductor suppliers a priority for OpenAI's local office.
The chip collaboration comes as OpenAI races to secure stable hardware supply chains. Custom silicon reduces dependence on dominant GPU makers and gives OpenAI more control over performance and cost.
Enterprise Adoption Surges as Samsung Embraces ChatGPT
Kim also described Samsung Electronics as "one of the largest-scale deployments of ChatGPT globally." Employees in Korea and overseas use ChatGPT across research and development, marketing, and sales.
In June, Samsung allowed workers in its Device eXperience division, which oversees mobile phones, televisions, and home appliances, to use ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, and Anthropic's Claude internally.
OpenAI said the number of ChatGPT Enterprise users at South Korean companies and institutions surged about 28-fold as of the end of August from a year earlier. The company declined to provide absolute user numbers.
Businesses are moving from individual AI tasks to company-wide operations. Legal, sales, finance, marketing, and operations teams are increasingly using AI tools, OpenAI said.
South Korea had the largest number of paying ChatGPT subscribers outside the United States as of late last year, according to OpenAI.
OpenAI expects adoption to accelerate following the September 4 launch of GPT-6 Astra, its latest model. The company said Astra offers improved performance in computer use, professional work, science, coding, and cybersecurity.
The deepening Samsung partnership reflects a broader industry shift. AI labs are moving beyond software into custom hardware, while electronics giants seek to embed AI across their product lines and internal workflows.
