OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has initiated a major fundraising and partnership campaign across East Asia and the Middle East, aiming to strengthen the company’s global AI infrastructure. The tour focuses on building alliances with semiconductor giants and securing long-term access to critical computing resources.
“We’re entering a stage where AI infrastructure must scale globally. Partnerships across technology and energy sectors will define how fast we can move,” Altman said.
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Strategic Meetings with Semiconductor Leaders
Altman’s itinerary includes high-level meetings with executives from TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix, alongside talks with sovereign wealth funds and investment groups in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Discussions revolve around:
- Memory chip supply agreements
- Joint data center projects
- Next-generation compute clusters for future OpenAI models
By securing these partnerships, OpenAI aims to guarantee multi-year access to high-performance memory and storage solutions, a critical component for training models like GPT-5 and Sora 2.
“Access to advanced memory is now the lifeblood of AI,” said a senior industry analyst in Seoul. “OpenAI is ensuring its future supply chain before the next AI boom peaks.”
Middle East Emerges as a Key AI Hub
Altman’s Middle East tour highlights the region’s growing importance in the global AI ecosystem. Countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are positioning themselves as AI and data center hubs, leveraging energy resources, capital reserves, and strategic geographic locations.
OpenAI’s initiatives reportedly include renewable-powered data centers, regional R&D hubs, and joint ventures in AI infrastructure that align with national “AI Vision 2030” strategies.
“The Middle East has both the energy and ambition to become the engine room of global AI,” said an Abu Dhabi-based investor.
Toward Global AI Autonomy
Altman’s tour reflects OpenAI’s strategy to reduce dependency on U.S.-based chip supply chains and diversify its hardware ecosystem. With AI models growing exponentially, a globally distributed infrastructure spanning manufacturing, energy, and research hubs is increasingly vital.
Industry analysts consider this one of the most ambitious global outreach efforts by a major AI company since the rise of large language models.
Looking Ahead
OpenAI is expected to finalize several partnership announcements later this year, potentially including:
- Co-investments in chip fabrication
- Expansion of AI cloud infrastructure
- Regional research and development centers
Altman’s global tour underscores a key message: OpenAI’s next frontier lies not just in software intelligence, but also in the hardware, partnerships, and infrastructure that make large-scale AI possible.
