Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, delivers remarks at the MOU signing ceremony between the Ministry of Science and ICT and Google DeepMind held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 27th. Yonhap News
Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind and the figure known as “the father of AlphaGo,” met consecutively with the heads of Korea’s major conglomerates on Friday, including Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) Chairman Jay Y. Lee, SK Group (034730.KS) Chairman Tae-won Choi, and LG Group (003550.KS) Chairman Kwang-mo Koo, to discuss expanding artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships, according to sources. The move is seen as Google’s close engagement with its key Korean partners to expand its semiconductor and device ecosystem amid intensifying global competition in large-scale AI.
According to industry sources, Hassabis met Lee, Choi, and Koo in succession on Friday afternoon. Google, Samsung Electronics, and SK hynix (000660.KS) are cooperating closely on areas including the supply of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for Google’s high-performance AI chips, the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU).
The meeting with Lee was attended by key executives including Samsung Electronics President Roh Tae-moon, who were expected to discuss strengthening leadership in AI smartphones equipped with Google’s AI model “Gemini.” The meeting with Choi was also expected to bring together executives from major affiliates including SK hynix and SK Telecom to address expanded AI cooperation in semiconductors and telecommunications infrastructure.
The meeting with Koo was held behind closed doors at the LG Twin Towers in Yeouido, Seoul. LG Electronics (066570.KS) President Ryu Jae-cheol and LG AI Research Co-CEO Lee Hong-rak were reported to be in attendance. The discussions were expected to focus on maximizing technological synergy with LG AI Research and on cooperation in the physical AI business, including robotics, an area LG has recently been investing in. Separately, LG Electronics also met with Madison Huang, senior director at Nvidia and eldest daughter of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, on the same day to discuss strategic collaboration in robotics. The company appears to be accelerating its efforts to build comprehensive AI alliances with global big tech firms.
Hassabis said on Thursday that “the partnerships we have forged with leading Korean companies will expand and deepen further,” referring to his meeting schedule with major firms during his visit. He also said, “Korea possesses a unique position to become a powerhouse in the new AI era, with top universities and a solid industrial foundation ranging from semiconductors to robotics.”
Meanwhile, Hassabis, a core figure within Google, plans to attend the “Google for Korea 2026” event on Saturday, where he will hold a dialogue with his former rival Lee Sedol, a 9-dan Go master, and play a friendly match with Shin Jin-seo, a 9-dan master and the current world No. 1 Go player.