OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has met with about 50 senior Samsung executives in South Korea, as OpenAI seeks to expand its AI and memory capacity amid a DRAM supply shortfall.
The meeting took place on October 30 at Samsung's Resources Development Center in Yongin, bringing together chiefs from the company's financial, electronics and biotechnology businesses, according to a Bloomberg report.
Samsung confirmed the discussions centred on strengthening existing relationships, particularly a letter of intent signed in October 2025 to cooperate on global AI infrastructure, including supplying memory semiconductors for OpenAI's Stargate project.
"The Samsung executives and CEO Sam Altman discussed the direction of AI technology development and its potential applications, as well as new markets and business opportunities that will emerge from it," the company stated. Samsung emphasised AI transformation and future business opportunities rather than announcing a new memory supply agreement.
Altman's visit comes after he argued on the Chick Pink podcast this week that DRAM inside personal computers is often underused, describing it as "quite terrible". He suggested data centres could make more intensive use of memory by sharing computer resources across AI workloads. The argument has drawn widespread criticism given OpenAI's own services like ChatGPT rely heavily on centralised computing infrastructure.
Demand from AI data centres is soaring, while high-bandwidth memory (HBM) has become particularly important as companies deploy increasingly powerful computing systems. AMD has forecast DRAM revenue will jump 177% in 2026 to about $416 billion. Trendforce estimates DRAM supply will fall 1% to 2% short of demand this year, with the imbalance expected to worsen in 2027. Citing a recent warning by Micron, the shortage could persist into 2028.
Samsung and SK Hynix together controlled about 63% of global DRAM revenues in the second quarter of 2026, according to Counterpoint Research, and about 83% of global HBM revenue. Their central role in supplying AI hardware has drawn other technology executives to South Korea: AMD CEO Lisa Su visited earlier this month to discuss securing additional HBM supplies, saying, “It is important to plan three to five years ahead with our partners.”
Altman reportedly also presented Samsung's AI Center head with a Codex Micro Keyboard, a device designed for use with OpenAI's coding agent.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The meeting signals that even the world's leading AI companies face pressure to secure hardware supply chains, with memory shortages potentially constraining AI expansion
- If DRAM supply remains tight through 2028, consumers may face higher prices for PCs and smartphones as data centres compete for limited production capacity
- South Korea's dominance in memory manufacturing, controlling more than 80% of the HBM market, gives it outsized influence over the pace of global AI infrastructure buildout
Background
OpenAI's Stargate project is a major AI infrastructure initiative requiring massive computing resources, including specialised memory semiconductors. High-bandwidth memory (HBM) has become critical as AI models grow, with companies racing to secure supply from Samsung and SK Hynix, the world's two largest memory manufacturers. The shortage has been driven by surging demand from data centres, with new manufacturing capacity expected to take years to come online.
Key Perspectives
Sam Altman: Has argued that DRAM in personal computers is underused and should be reallocated to data centres for AI workloads, a position that has drawn criticism given OpenAI's reliance on centralised computing.
Samsung: Confirmed the meeting focused on strengthening existing ties and discussing AI technology development and business opportunities, without announcing a new memory supply agreement.
AMD CEO Lisa Su: Emphasised the need to plan three to five years ahead with partners when she visited South Korea earlier this month to discuss additional HBM supplies.
What to Watch
- Whether Samsung and OpenAI announce a formal memory supply agreement in the coming months
- How DRAM supply and pricing evolves through 2027, particularly for HBM, as demand from AI data centres grows
- Whether Altman's proposal to reallocate consumer DRAM gains traction among other technology companies or policymakers
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe headline says Sam Altman met Samsung executives to secure memory supply for AI expansion.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Sam Altman meets with Samsung leadership to secure more RAM for data centers amid crushing shortages.”
- SupportedAltman's South Korea visit followed his comments that DRAM in personal computers is often underused.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Altman’s visit to South Korea follows his recent comments about how the world's limited memory supply should be allocated. In an interview on the Chick Pink podcast this week, the OpenAI chief argued that DRAM sitting inside personal computers is often underused”
- SupportedAltman suggested data centres could share computer resources across AI workloads.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “He suggested that data centers could make more intensive use of memory by sharing computer resources across AI workloads.”
- SupportedAltman met about 50 senior Samsung executives in South Korea as OpenAI sought to expand its AI and memory capacity.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has met with about 50 senior Samsung executives in South Korea, as the company seeks to expand its Artificial Intelligence and memory capacity, Bloomberg reports.”
- SupportedThe meeting took place on October 30 at Samsung's Resources Development Center in Yongin.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The meeting, which took place at Samsung’s Resources Development Center in Yongin on Saturday, October 30, brought together chiefs from the company’s financial, electronics, and biotechnology businesses.”
- SupportedSamsung said the discussions focused on strengthening existing relationships, particularly an October 2025 letter of intent for global AI infrastructure cooperation, including memory semiconductors for OpenAI's Stargate project.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Confirming the meeting, Samsung Korea said the discussion revolved around strengthening existing relationships between the two companies, particularly a letter of Intent signed in October 20225 to cooperate on global AI infrastructure, including supplying memory semiconductors for OpenAI’s Stargate project.”
- SupportedSamsung stated: “The Samsung executives and CEO Sam Altman discussed the direction of AI technology development and its potential applications, as well as new markets and business opportunities that will emerge from it.”Latest from Tom's Hardware: ““The Samsung executives and CEO Sam Altman discussed the direction of AI technology development and its potential applications, as well as new markets and business opportunities that will emerge from it,” Samsung stated.”
- SupportedSamsung emphasized AI transformation and future business opportunities rather than announcing a new memory supply agreement.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Samsung, however, emphasized more on AI transformation and future business opportunities, rather than announcing a new memory supply agreement.”
- SupportedOn the Chick Pink podcast this week, Altman described DRAM in personal computers as “quite terrible”.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “In an interview on the Chick Pink podcast this week, the OpenAI chief argued that DRAM sitting inside personal computers is often underused, describing it as “quite terrible”.”
- SupportedAMD forecast DRAM revenue would rise 177% in 2026 to about $416 billion.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “AMD forecasting DRAM revenue will jump 177% in 2026 to about $416 billion.”
- SupportedTrendForce estimated DRAM supply would be 1% to 2% short of demand this year, with the imbalance expected to worsen in 2027.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Trendforce also estimates DRAM supply will fall 1% to 2% short of demand this year, with the imbalance expected to worsen in 2027.”
- SupportedLisa Su said, “It is important to plan three to five years ahead with our partners.”Latest from Tom's Hardware: “saying, "It is important to plan three to five years ahead with our partners."”
