Leading figures from South Korea’s top companies, including Samsung Electronics, SK, and LG, are making strategic business trips to the United States to strengthen their positions in the rapidly evolving AI industry. They are especially looking to Silicon Valley, where AI technology and workforce are concentrated.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won embarked on a business trip to the U.S. on June 22, marking his second visit in two months. His April trip included a meeting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at Nvidia’s San Jose headquarters. Earlier this month, Chey traveled to Taiwan to meet with TSMC Chairman Wei Zhou, encouraging collaboration to advance AI technologies for humanity’s benefit.
During his current trip, Chey is expected to discuss AI memory collaboration with major Silicon Valley tech firms. Scheduled meetings include Nvidia, a key SK Hynix’s high-bandwidth memory (HBM) customer, and semiconductor design companies AMD and Intel. Accompanying Chey are SK Telecom President Yoo Sang-young and SK Hynix President Kim Ju-sun.
SK Group is focused on cultivating an AI ecosystem that spans from semiconductors to services. SK Hynix produces crucial components for AI systems, such as HBM, high-capacity DDR5 modules, and enterprise SSDs optimized for AI servers. Meanwhile, SK Telecom has launched A.Dot, a generative AI service with four million subscribers.
Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo have also visited the U.S. to enhance their global AI networks and evaluate future business strategies.
Lee returned on June 13 from a two-week trip across the U.S. coasts, where he shared his vision with global CEOs and explored collaborative opportunities to lead future industries.
During his visit, Lee privately met with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at Zuckerberg’s Palo Alto home, discussing potential AI, VR, and AR cooperation. This meeting came four months after the two met at the Seungjiwon, Samsung’s guesthouse, during Zuckerberg’s visit to South Korea in February.
Lee also met with Qualcomm President and CEO Christiano Amon and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy to bolster AI semiconductor collaboration.
LG Chairman Koo spent four days in the U.S. starting June 17, visiting Tennessee and Silicon Valley to review North American operations and strategize for the future. In Silicon Valley, Koo met with AI startups and examined cutting-edge AI technologies. He discussed the impact of AI on the semiconductor industry with Jim Keller, CEO of Tencent. He visited Figure AI, an AI humanoid robot startup, to observe its Figure One robot in action.
“With the expected interest rate cut in the U.S. in September, companies are likely to increase investments in AI and semiconductors, potentially leading to a significant industry upturn,” said a financial insider. “Top executives are visiting the U.S. to preemptively engage with the AI ecosystem, viewing this as a critical moment to overcome the AI chasm.”
