Major South Korean conglomerate chiefs and CEOs of global big tech companies gathered in one place for the San Francisco AI Summit, held on the occasion of President Lee Jae-myung's visit to San Francisco, U.S., to discuss the vision for the AI industry and blueprints for cooperation.

President Lee stated, "Today at this summit, South Korean and global representative companies with a combined corporate value exceeding 20 quadrillion won are announcing a large-scale AI investment initiative that they have prepared together over a long period," adding, "Please shape the bold future of the AI era together with South Korea."

Taking the microphone first among business leaders, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang expressed his affection, saying, "NVIDIA and South Korea's PC bangs (internet cafes) have grown together. My friendship with South Korea spans 25 years," and "NVIDIA has been on this journey with South Korea from the beginning to this day."

He continued, "We will also announce that NVIDIA and the SK Group are further expanding our partnership to reach a scale of 500 billion dollars."

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman evaluated, "If you want to imagine what will happen elsewhere, you just need to look at South Korea. South Korea has rapidly embraced AI," and "South Korea's three major mega-projects will help AI take a leap to the next stage."

Broadcom CEO Hock Tan expressed willingness to cooperate on South Korea's Sovereign AI project, stating, "We will actively participate in the development of South Korea's frontier model. We will also sign a related MOU with Samsung Electronics."

Participating via video link, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella promised, "We deeply value our partnership with South Korea. Microsoft will make continuous investments over the coming years to build South Korea's AI infrastructure."

Remarks by South Korean business leaders followed.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong diagnosed, "Due to the development of AI, the ways humanity works, thinks, and lives are changing fundamentally."

He then highlighted the importance of cross-border global cooperation, stating, "To build a complete ecosystem ranging from innovative AI models and cutting-edge semiconductors to data centers for stable services and abundant strategies, cross-border global cooperation is essential."

In particular, Chairman Lee mentioned, "I am reminded of a passage in President Lee's autobiography where he recalls feeling a sense of wonder and dreaming about the future when he touched a helicopter that landed on his elementary school playground," adding, "Samsung will make every effort so that the next generation can enjoy big dreams."

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won shared a story about having dinner with CEO Jensen Huang and others the previous day over pizza and chicken, laughing as he said, "Whenever I meet CEO Jensen Huang, he says, 'I'm hungry, we need more chips.'"

Regarding the corporate investment amounts recently announced through the three mega-projects and other initiatives, Chairman Chey explained, "Some suspect that it might be too exaggerated, and while it may be unfamiliar, it is not absurd."

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun requested support, stating, "The results of cooperation with big tech must lead to a foundation for the growth of the domestic physical AI industry," and "To this end, we plan to create an open ecosystem to advance domestic robot AI technology."

Naver Board Chairman Lee Hae-jin also said, "NVIDIA and Broadcom are investing a massive amount of 10 billion dollars in our company this time," adding, "It will serve as an opportunity to leap to a new stage."

(Photo: Yonhap News)