South Korean President Lee Jae-myung Meets Tech Leaders from OpenAI and Nvidia in San Francisco, Betting on AI Industry Development in Silicon Valley
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung met with tech leaders from OpenAI and Nvidia in San Francisco, urging these companies to take a larger role in AI investment projects in Korea.
The South Korean government is promoting AI as a national-level project, focusing on semiconductors, AI data centers, and physical AI infrastructure, directly integrating the U.S. model and chip giants into the domestic industry layout.
In terms of market mechanisms, this is not merely about attracting investment, but about competing for computing power, capital, and industry placement; benefiting are the chip, cloud, and data center chains that can receive support from Korean policies and local expansion opportunities, while passive suppliers waiting for demand overseas are under pressure.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
This move by South Korea essentially upgrades AI from a "technical issue" to a "national industrial organization approach." Public information shows that the South Korean government has prioritized semiconductors, AI data centers, and physical AI as key investment directions, with amounts advancing in trillions of won and billions of dollars, indicating that it is not waiting for the market to mature spontaneously, but is actively setting the stage.
In terms of capital pathways, Lee Jae-myung is directly engaging with companies like OpenAI, Nvidia, Anthropic, and Broadcom, with the aim not being symbolic photo opportunities, but to secure the simultaneous establishment of models, chips, and infrastructure. South Korean companies are also following suit, with executives from Samsung, SK, and Hyundai Motor participating, suggesting that the government, conglomerates, and U.S. tech companies are forming a closed loop of policy-capital-computing power.
Historically, South Korea's strongest industrial model has been "the government sets the direction, conglomerates execute, and global companies provide technology and orders." This AI version continues the same logic, just expanding from shipbuilding, automobiles, and storage to computing power and models; if implemented smoothly, what South Korea desires is not just individual projects, but to transform the country into an AI hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
Essentially, this is about industrial chain reconstruction: competition in the AI era is not just about who has the stronger model, but who can package chips, data centers, electricity, and capital into a viable national project. What South Korea is currently vying for is this position.
ABAB News · Cognitive Laws
AI competition first competes for computing power, then for implementation.
National-level projects rely on capital and organizational strength.
Whoever builds the infrastructure first will reap the industrial dividends first.