Samsung accelerates AI transformation across all affiliates

Executives trained on generative AI, discuss ChatGPT adoption

Altman: 'Competitive edge depends on how you use AI' — gifts Codex keyboard

Samsung Town in Seocho-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]
Samsung Town in Seocho-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

"Simply using AI will no longer be enough to secure a competitive advantage." That was the message OpenAI CEO Sam Altman delivered to roughly 50 presidents of Samsung Group's major affiliates Saturday, as Samsung pressed ahead with a company-wide AI transformation drive. The two sides gathered to discuss management innovation through AI and the identification of new business opportunities.

Samsung held the "Samsung Group Presidents' Forum with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman" at the Samsung Human Resources Development Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. About 50 presidents from major affiliates in Samsung's electronics, financial and biotech divisions — including Samsung Electronics — attended.

The executives and Altman exchanged views under the theme "The Next Decade Reshaped by AI: Corporate Choices," covering the direction of AI technology development, its potential applications, and the new markets and business opportunities it is expected to create.

Discussions also examined the impact AI will have on corporate decision-making and organizational management, as well as the capabilities executives will need to navigate a rapidly changing business environment.

The forum was organized as part of a leadership education initiative to advance Samsung's company-wide AI transformation.

Attendees included Jun Young-hyun, Samsung Electronics co-CEO and head of the DS (semiconductor) division, and Roh Tae-moon, Samsung Electronics co-CEO and head of the DX (finished products) division, along with Song Yong-ho, head of the AI Center within the DS division, Choi Joo-sun, president of Samsung SDI, and Jang Deok-hyun, president of Samsung Electro-Mechanics, among other affiliate presidents from the electronics, financial and biotech sectors.

Samsung has set a policy of encouraging its executives to learn AI technology firsthand and spread a culture of applying it directly to their work.

Samsung and OpenAI have maintained a strategic partnership across various fields since last year.

Samsung Electronics and OpenAI signed a letter of intent in October last year to cooperate on building global AI infrastructure, and have since been working to supply memory chips for OpenAI's Stargate project.

At the same time, Samsung SDS agreed to collaborate on AI data center construction and enterprise AI services, while Samsung C&T and Samsung Heavy Industries agreed to jointly develop floating offshore data centers.

Exchanges between the two companies have continued since, including a visit by Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong to OpenAI's headquarters in San Francisco in July this year.

At the forum, Altman said "simply using AI will no longer be enough to secure a sustainable competitive advantage," adding that "competitive advantage will depend on how you use AI to move faster, build better products and stay ahead of rivals."

The session also addressed how to translate the adoption of ChatGPT Enterprise — the business-oriented version of ChatGPT — into tangible changes in work practices and enhanced competitiveness.

Altman also presented Samsung executives with a "Codex Micro Keyboard," a compact device designed to make it easier to use Codex, OpenAI's coding agent.

"The idea behind it is that in a world where you give verbal instructions to computers and use AI, you may not need an entire keyboard," Altman said. "I think it actually helps you use Codex faster."

Altman was accompanied by senior OpenAI executives, including Richard Ho, vice president of hardware; Kiran Mani, president for Asia-Pacific and Japan; Andreas Hartl, vice president of sales for Asia-Pacific and Japan; and Arvind KC, chief people officer.

OpenAI said the meeting expanded the scope of discussions beyond existing infrastructure cooperation to encompass AI adoption and utilization strategies across Samsung's affiliates as a whole.

Before the forum with Altman, Samsung's presidents also took part in a hands-on generative AI training session — the second such intensive program for the group's leadership, held about four months after the first in June.

During the session, the executives learned how to use AI to organize scattered management materials and build a personal "knowledge repository," and how to apply it to decision-making.


arete@heraldcorp.com