[Edaily Reporter Choi Oh-hyun ] Samsung Group invited Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and known as the “father of ChatGPT,” to explore future management strategies for the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Executives from major affiliates gathered to discuss the “AX (AI Transformation)” strategy, demonstrating their commitment to accelerating the AX initiative.

According to Samsung on the 1st, CEO Altman held a roundtable discussion on the 31st at the Samsung Human Resources Development Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, with approximately 50 presidents from Samsung’s affiliates—including electronics, finance, and biotech—on the topic of future management strategies for the AI era. Following the partnership established last year to build AI infrastructure, Samsung and OpenAI further strengthened their collaboration by bringing together executives from Samsung’s major affiliates.

The roundtable was held under the theme “The Next 10 Years Transformed by AI: Corporate Choices.” Attendees examined the direction of AI technology development and its potential applications, and exchanged views on emerging markets and business opportunities. They also discussed the impact AI will have on corporate decision-making and organizational operations, as well as the competencies required of executives.

CEO Altman emphasized at the event, “It is difficult to secure a sustainable competitive advantage through the mere adoption of AI,” adding, “Competitive advantage depends on how AI is leveraged to move faster, create better products, and stay ahead of competitors.”

He then presented Samsung’s executive team with “Codex Micro,” OpenAI’s first hardware product under its own brand, which was launched last July. Codex Micro is a compact keyboard designed for use with “Codex,” OpenAI’s coding agent. Unlike traditional computer keyboards, it allows for voice input and features 13 mechanical switches programmed with frequently used commands. This is a clear example of how AI can transform not only the way we use computers but also the way we perform our work. CEO Altman explained, “We incorporated the idea that in a world where we give voice commands to computers and utilize AI, we might not even need a full keyboard.”

The collaboration between Samsung and OpenAI has been ongoing since last October. At that time, Samsung signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with OpenAI and agreed to collaborate on the “Stargate” project, a massive AI infrastructure initiative. Stargate is a large-scale AI infrastructure project led by OpenAI, Japan’s SoftBank, and Oracle of the U.S., among others.

While focusing on strengthening its company-wide AI competitiveness, the Samsung Group is also accelerating executive training. On this day, the executive team received hands-on training in generative AI prior to a meeting with CEO Altman. This was the second session held in four months, following the first training session last June. It is unusual for the group of presidents to gather in one place for training focused on a specific competency. In addition, SamsungElectronics has decided to significantly increase the weighting for “AX competency enhancement” in this year’s executive evaluations, raising it from the previous 2–5 points to 20 points.

Meanwhile, CEO Altman also had lunch with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won in Seoul on the same day. Key executives from SK hynix and SKTelecom were reportedly in attendance. While the specific details of this meeting were not disclosed, it is speculated that existing collaborative projects—such as HBM supply and the construction of AI data centers—may have been discussed. SK hynix and SKTelecom also signed a letter of intent for memory supply and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the joint construction of an AI data center in the southwestern region last October in connection with the Stargate project.