Lee meets OpenAI, Nvidia CEOs, calls for greater roles in Korea's AI investment projects

President Lee Jae Myung raises a toast with attendees during a dinner with global AI leaders at a restaurant in San Francisco, July 24. Yonhap

SAN FRANCISCO — President Lee Jae Myung met with the heads of four global tech giants, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, on Friday and called for their greater participation in Korea's artificial intelligence (AI) investment plans.

The meetings took place on the first day of Lee's two-day trip to San Francisco aimed at promoting AI investment and cooperation between global tech giants and South Korea.

Lee also met separately with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic PBC CEO Dario Amodei and Broadcom CEO Hock Tan.

During the meeting, the president praised Huang as being at the forefront of a "fundamental shift" taking place around the world and introduced Korea's recently announced large-scale investment plans to build a semiconductor production cluster and AI data centers.

The plans aim to provide further momentum after growing global demand for semiconductors amid the AI boom has helped push South Korean into becoming one of the world's major chip supply hubs.

Lee expressed hope that the Nvidia CEO will play a greater role in South Korea's investment drive, saying the projects will help transform the country into an AI-driven society.

Huang underscored what he called Koreans' enthusiasm for AI, stressing that the country has entered a golden era under Lee's leadership.

The president responded by highlighting his pledge to make Korea a global leader in applying AI to the real world.

President Lee Jae Myung raises a toast with attendees at a dinner with global AI leaders at a restaurant in San Francisco, July 24. Yonhap

In a separate meeting with Altman, the president again stressed his government's push to transform the country's industrial structure around AI, adding that he enjoys using OpenAI's ChatGPT.

He also asked Altman to play a greater role in South Korea's investment plans, while Altman described South Korea as one of the world's most important countries in AI development.

Meeting with Amodei, Lee asked for his special attention to Korea's AI sector.

The president said, "As Korea plans to significantly expand investment in the AI sector, I hope for Anthropic's special attention, investment and contributions."

Amodei thanked Lee, noting the Korean government's priority on AI, and said he expects a wide range of cooperation with South Korea.

He said Anthropic places the highest priority on cooperation with other companies and expressed hope for cooperation with South Korea in various areas, including data centers.

Amodei said his company and South Korea's science ministry will sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in AI security and the cyber industry.

During a separate meeting with the Broadcom CEO, the Korean president again called for the company's help and support for Korea's push to establish an AI ecosystem.