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Samsung and SK Hynix to Supply Chips for OpenAI’s $500 Billion Stargate Project

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Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, South Korea’s top semiconductor manufacturers, have signed letters of intent to supply memory chips for OpenAI’s massive Stargate project, marking a major step in Seoul’s growing role in global artificial intelligence infrastructure.

As part of the deal, OpenAI will collaborate with both companies to build two new AI data centers in South Korea, branded as “Korean-style Stargate,” aligning with President Lee Jae Myung’s goal of turning the country into an AI innovation hub in Asia. The decision leverages South Korea’s strong industrial base and its status as the world’s second-largest ChatGPT subscription market after the United States.

The agreements were announced on Wednesday following a high-profile meeting in Seoul between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, President Lee Jae Myung, and the chairmen of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

The Stargate project, unveiled by U.S. President Donald Trump in January, aims to invest $500 billion into developing next-generation AI infrastructure with global partners such as SoftBank, Oracle, and now the South Korean chip giants. The initiative seeks to secure the computing capacity needed to sustain AI’s rapid growth and maintain U.S. leadership in the field.

South Korea’s presidential adviser Kim Yong-beom revealed that OpenAI plans to order 900,000 semiconductor wafers by 2029 and establish joint ventures with Samsung and SK Hynix to operate two 20-megawatt-capacity data centers domestically.

“The significant part of the Stargate project would be impossible without memory chips from the two companies,” said Kim.

He added that South Korea may also participate in financing the project.

Altman, in his remarks, emphasized the strategic importance of Korea:

“Korea has an industrial base like nowhere else in the world that is critical for the development of AI. We’re very excited to build Stargate Korea with Samsung and Hynix to support the sovereign AI needs of the country.”

Together, Samsung and SK Hynix control about 70% of the global DRAM market and nearly 80% of the HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) market. HBM technology, introduced in 2013, stacks chips vertically to save space, boost performance, and reduce power consumption, making it vital for AI data processing.

Analysts estimate that 900,000 wafers of advanced DRAM could be worth more than 100 trillion won ($70 billion), though prices may fluctuate depending on market conditions.

In addition to the memory supply deals:

  • Samsung SDS, an IT services affiliate, signed a partnership with OpenAI to develop and operate AI data centers under the Stargate framework.

  • Samsung Heavy Industries and Samsung C&T will collaborate on floating offshore data centers, designed to reduce cooling costs and carbon emissions.

Meanwhile, Google has also been in talks with several South Korean companies to explore potential AI collaborations. In June, SK Group announced a 7 trillion won investment, including $4 billion from Amazon Web Services, to build another major data center in the country.

Despite optimism about AI’s transformative potential, some investors remain cautious, citing the risk of a tech infrastructure bubble as companies rush to build large-scale data facilities.

The Stargate project, delayed earlier by prolonged negotiations and site selection, is now poised to gain new momentum through this South Korea partnership, reinforcing the nation’s position at the heart of the global AI supply chain.

Microsoft Unveils 365 Premium Plan with Integrated Copilot AI Assistant

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Microsoft announced on Wednesday the launch of Microsoft 365 Premium, a new $19.99-per-month subscription plan for individuals that bundles its Copilot artificial intelligence assistant across core productivity apps such as Outlook, Excel, and Word.

The new offering represents a strategic consolidation of Microsoft’s growing AI ecosystem, simplifying user access to its generative AI tools while embedding them more deeply into the company’s mainstream productivity suite. The move underscores the broader industry trend of monetizing AI investments by weaving advanced features directly into widely used software platforms.

According to Microsoft, 365 Premium provides users with the highest Copilot usage limits to date and introduces a set of exclusive tools — including Researcher, Analyst, and Actions — designed to enhance workflow automation, data analysis, and content creation. The plan also includes 1 terabyte of cloud storage and advanced cybersecurity protection via Microsoft Defender.

The launch of 365 Premium also signals the end of Copilot Pro, Microsoft’s previous $20-per-month AI subscription. Existing Copilot Pro and Microsoft 365 Personal or Family users will have the option to migrate to Premium, the company confirmed.

Microsoft said it would continue offering a free version of Copilot, but 365 Premium users will benefit from expanded functionality and higher usage limits across multiple applications.

The move mirrors the subscription model of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus, which also costs $20 per month, but Microsoft aims to differentiate its offer by integrating AI directly into productivity workflows rather than providing a standalone chatbot experience.

The company added that current Personal and Family subscribers will also receive limited Copilot upgrades at no additional cost, as part of its effort to encourage broader adoption of AI-assisted tools within the Microsoft ecosystem.

With this shift, Microsoft continues to strengthen its leadership in the consumer AI productivity market, while aligning individual plans more closely with its enterprise-focused Copilot for Microsoft 365, already used by millions of business customers worldwide.

OpenAI Launches “Sora” — an AI Video App That Can Generate Clips from Copyrighted Material

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OpenAI has unveiled Sora, a new AI-powered video creation app that allows users to generate and share short videos — including those derived from copyrighted content — directly to a built-in social media-style feed. The app, which represents OpenAI’s most ambitious push yet into generative video, is expected to raise new tensions across the entertainment industry.

According to the company, copyright holders such as movie and television studios must actively opt out if they do not wish to have their content appear in the app’s video feed. OpenAI described this as a continuation of its previous opt-out policy used for AI image generation, where creators must explicitly request the exclusion of their work from model training or public feeds.

The move is already sparking debate in Hollywood. People familiar with the matter said that Disney has opted out, and other major studios are currently in talks with OpenAI over the implications of Sora’s copyright framework.

Earlier this year, OpenAI urged the Trump administration to formally classify the use of copyrighted material for AI training as “fair use” under U.S. law — a position it argued was essential for national competitiveness and security, warning that U.S. AI firms could fall behind Chinese rivals without legal clarity.

Beyond copyright issues, OpenAI said Sora includes robust safeguards to prevent the misuse of personal likenesses and public figures. Users cannot generate videos of other people unless those individuals upload an AI “liveness check” — a verification process requiring users to move their heads and recite random numbers — to confirm consent.

Sora videos can be up to 10 seconds long and feature a new “Cameo” function, allowing users to create lifelike digital doubles of themselves and insert them into AI-generated scenes. The company says these videos are intended for creative experimentation and entertainment, with built-in transparency markers indicating AI generation.

Market analysts view the Sora app as a direct challenge to existing short-video giants such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak noted that the platform’s combination of AI creativity and social-sharing features positions OpenAI “in the business of competing for attention and reshaping user behavior.”

As Hollywood, regulators, and AI companies continue to clash over intellectual property and deepfake laws, Sora’s launch could set a major precedent for how AI-generated audiovisual content will be treated under future copyright and media frameworks.