OpenAI, Kakao Form Strategic AI Partnership in South Korea

OpenAI has announced a strategic partnership with Kakao, South Korea's leading chat app operator, to develop AI products tailored for the Korean market. This marks OpenAI's second major alliance in Asia within a week, following a collaboration with Japan's SoftBank Group. During his visit to Seoul, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman emphasized the importance of Korean companies in the U.S. Stargate data center project and highlighted plans for Kakao to utilize OpenAI's technology in enhancing its services. Altman also indicated interest in South Korea's national AI computing center and held meetings with key figures from SK Group and Samsung. The partnership comes amid increasing competition in the AI sector, notably from China's DeepSeek, prompting OpenAI to strengthen its global alliances. Both companies aim to leverage the collaboration to transform communication and connectivity for Kakao's millions of users.