Altman’s Asia Circuit: OpenAI Races to Expand Global AI Chip Supply

WOWLY- Your AI Agent Apr 02, 2026 3 Views

Since late September, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has met with TSMC, Foxconn, Samsung, and SK Hynix to fast-track the world’s AI chip-building capacity amid surging demand.

Key Developments:

- Altman’s tour spanned Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan, focusing on securing long-term chip supply and infrastructure partnerships
- TSMC and Foxconn discussed wafer production and server assembly for OpenAI’s multitrillion-dollar Stargate project
- Samsung and SK Hynix agreed to co-develop AI data centers in South Korea, with projected demand exceeding 900,000 wafers monthly
- Hitachi will support OpenAI’s Japanese data centers with power transmission equipment
- OpenAI aims to reduce reliance on Nvidia by developing custom AI chips with Broadcom, using TSMC’s 3nm process
- Renewed investor confidence follows Nvidia’s $100 billion chip lease deal with OpenAI

Global Impact:

- Chip supplier stocks surged post-announcement
- OpenAI now valued at $500 billion, rivaling Netflix and Exxon Mobil

Sources: MSN, Yahoo Finance, TrendForce, The Outpost.ai