OpenAI Korea manager says AI chip demand will keep driving memory surge

At a conference in Seoul celebrating OpenAI’s regional office anniversary, general manager Kim Kyung-hoon emphasized that robust semiconductor supply will be essential for more complex AI workloads and predicted ongoing demand for AI chips. He linked the recent launch of GPT-6 Astra to a broader optimism about an AI-driven memory surge, noting that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix saw their stock prices climb after the announcement.

Kim praised South Korea’s government initiative to fund domestic frontier AI models, saying it diversifies options for users and nurtures the entire AI value chain, from chips to talent. OpenAI disclosed that enterprise-grade ChatGPT users in the country grew 28-fold year-on-year, while usage of ChatGPT Work and Codex rose 14-fold since March, and overall weekly active users rose 35% year-on-year. The company plans to support inference residency, expand its “Daybreak Partner” cybersecurity collaboration with local firms, and scale up a dedicated advertising team as it rolls out ad-supported services for lower-tier models.