{"slug": "president-of-south-korea-visits-sf-during-ai-summit-makes-500-billion-deal-with", "title": "President of South Korea Visits SF During AI Summit, Makes $500 Billion Deal with Nvidia", "summary": "South Korean President Lee Jae Myung announced a $500 billion partnership with Nvidia to build AI data centers in South Korea during a two-day AI summit in San Francisco. The agreement, formalized through letters of intent, involves SK Group and Nvidia developing at least $500 billion worth of AI factories and data centers, with the first facility expected in 2027. Lee also met with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Broadcom CEO Hock Tan to encourage deeper involvement in South Korea's AI plans.", "body_md": "South Korean President Lee Jae Myung hosted an AI summit in San Francisco over the weekend, bringing together local tech leaders and South Korea's top business executives before announcing a $500 billion partnership with Nvidia to build AI data centers in South Korea.\n\nSouth Korean President Lee Jae Myung spent the weekend in San Francisco meeting with leaders of some of the world's biggest AI companies as part of a two-day trip focused on expanding the country's artificial intelligence industry, [as KRON4 reports](https://www.kron4.com/news/technology-ai/south-korean-president-visits-sf-secures-500-billion-partnership-with-silicon-valley-tech-giant/). After meeting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the Fairmont on Friday, the two sides announced a long-term partnership under which SK Group and Nvidia plan to develop at least $500 billion worth of AI factories and data centers in South Korea, with the first facility expected to come online in 2027.\n\nThe agreement was reportedly formalized through letters of intent signed in San Francisco, with SK Group planning to build the facilities using Nvidia's [AI chip-powered platform](https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/sk-telecom-ai-infrastructure). The investment is part of South Korea's $950 billion dollar push to expand semiconductor manufacturing and AI infrastructure as demand for advanced chips continues to grow worldwide, [according to Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/south-korea-president-lee-looking-open-new-era-ai-with-global-tech-companies-2026-07-25/).\n\n[The site Digitimes reports](https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20260727VL220/samsung-amd-openai-hbm4-infrastructure.html) that during the visit, Lee also held separate meetings with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Broadcom CEO Hock Tan, encouraging each company to deepen its involvement in South Korea's AI plans while pitching South Korea as a place to build and deploy next-generation AI technologies.\n\nLee’s trip also brought together executives from South Korea's largest companies, including Samsung Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, alongside Altman, Amodei, and Tan.\n\nHuang praised South Korea's enthusiasm for AI during the meeting, while Lee reiterated his goal of making the country a global leader in applying AI across industry and everyday life, [as the Korea Times reports](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/business/20260725/lee-meets-openai-nvidia-ceos-calls-for-greater-roles-in-koreas-ai-investment-projects).\n\nAltman likewise described South Korea as one of the world's most important countries for AI development. During Lee's meeting with Anthropic, Amodei reportedly said the company and South Korea's science ministry would sign a memorandum of understanding on AI safety and cybersecurity cooperation, while expressing interest in broader collaboration, including data centers.\n\nSeparately, Samsung's Lee met with Altman at OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters, per Reuters. While neither company disclosed details, South Korean media reported the discussions likely centered on expanding AI infrastructure and semiconductor cooperation. The meeting follows a [strategic partnership](https://openai.com/index/samsung-electronics-chatgpt-codex-deployment/) the companies announced last year focused on advanced memory technology and AI infrastructure, and comes after OpenAI expanded deployment of ChatGPT and its Codex coding assistant to Samsung employees as part of the company's broader AI rollout.\n\nLee was also spotted visiting Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf over the weekend, according to a [video shared on social media](https://www.tiktok.com/@xoxo.chelsie_/video/7666630578728471839?_r=1&_t=ZP-98MlWruhdlO).\n\n[@xoxo.chelsie_]Pier 39* Walked out of dinner to straight chaos[#fyp][#southkorea][#president][#sanfrancisco][#blowthisup][♬ original sound - €]\n\n**Related:** [SF Giants’ Jung Hoo Lee Takes Players, Executives on Tour of South Korea, Then Gets Detained at LAX](https://sfist.com/2026/01/24/sf-giants-jung-hoo-lee-detained-at-lax-after-hosting-tour-of-south-korea-for-players-execs/)\n\n*Image: President of South Korea Lee Jae Myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung during a welcoming ceremony as part of an official visit to President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at Alvorada Palace on July 27, 2026 in Brasilia, Brazil. (Photo by Ton Molina/Getty Images)*", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/president-of-south-korea-visits-sf-during-ai-summit-makes-500-billion-deal-with", "canonical_source": "https://sfist.com/2026/07/27/president-of-south-korea-visits-sf-during-ai-summit-makes-500-billion-deal-with-nvidi/", "published_at": "2026-07-28 01:22:44+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-28 01:34:33.350661+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-infrastructure", "ai-chips", "ai-policy", "ai-research"], "entities": ["Lee Jae Myung", "Nvidia", "SK Group", "Jensen Huang", "OpenAI", "Sam Altman", "Anthropic", "Dario Amodei"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/president-of-south-korea-visits-sf-during-ai-summit-makes-500-billion-deal-with", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/president-of-south-korea-visits-sf-during-ai-summit-makes-500-billion-deal-with.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/president-of-south-korea-visits-sf-during-ai-summit-makes-500-billion-deal-with.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/president-of-south-korea-visits-sf-during-ai-summit-makes-500-billion-deal-with.jsonld"}}