OpenAI partners with one of South Korea’s tech giants as CEO Sam Altman looks for post-DeepSeek allies

OpenAI chief Sam Altman signed a deal with tech giant Kakao in South Korea on Tuesday as the U.S. firm seeks new alliances after Chinese rival DeepSeek shook the global AI industry.

Kakao, which owns an online bank, South Korea’s largest taxi-hailing app, and a messaging service, announced a partnership allowing them to use ChatGPT for its new artificial intelligence services, joining a global alliance led by OpenAI amid intensifying competition in the sector.

“We’re excited to bring advanced AI to Kakao’s millions of users and work together to integrate our technology into services that transform how Kakao’s users communicate and connect,” said Altman.

Altman’s company is part of the Stargate drive announced by U.S. President Donald Trump to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure in the United States.

Source: FORTUNE