President Lee Expands 'AI Alliance' in San Francisco with Consecutive Meetings with Sam Altman, Jensen Huang, and Other Global Leaders

President Lee's 11-Day Tour of the US and Latin America: July 24 to August 3
AI Summit with Leaders of Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, and Naver
Announcement of the 'San Francisco AI Declaration'
Meeting with Six Major Silicon Valley VCs on Jul

President Lee Jae-myung is set to meet consecutively with big tech leaders who are driving the global artificial intelligence (AI) industry, including Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, in San Francisco, USA. His plan is to connect Korea's ongoing "Three Major Mega-Projects for Korea’s Grand Leap"—in the fields of semiconductors, AI data centers, and physical AI—with global technology and capital in order to yield investment and cooperation outcomes.

Policy Chief Kim Yongbeom is holding a preliminary briefing on the US and South America tour at the Blue House Chunchugwan Press Briefing Room on the 22nd. July 22, 2026 [Photo by Blue House Press Photographers Group] Yonhap News

Kim Yongbeom, policy chief at the Blue House, announced during a briefing on the 22nd that President Lee will arrive in San Francisco on the morning of the 24th and sequentially hold meetings with Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic; Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia; and Hock Tan, President and CEO of Broadcom. Anthropic and OpenAI are leading the generative AI model market, while Nvidia is a front-runner in both graphics processing units (GPUs), which are essential for AI data centers, and the field of physical AI. Broadcom is recognized as a globally competitive company in the areas of customized AI semiconductors and AI networks, tailored to corporate demand.

During his meetings with these CEOs, President Lee will explain the Korean government’s large-scale AI investment plans and its commitment to global cooperation, as well as discuss practical measures for joint ventures and local investment with Korean companies. He will also focus on expanding ongoing collaborations between Korean firms and these big tech companies, positioning Korea as a key hub in the global AI supply chain.

President Lee will also attend the "San Francisco AI Summit." The event will be joined by the above-mentioned global big tech CEOs, as well as Lee Jae-yong, Executive Chairman of Samsung Electronics, Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, Euisun Chung, Executive Chair of Hyundai Motor Group, and Lee Hae-jin, Co-founder and Chairman of the Board at Naver. Around 150 participants from domestic and international AI companies, researchers, startups, and investors are expected. At the summit, cooperation agreements such as MOUs between Korean companies and global big tech firms will also be signed. Each company will present its AI innovation strategies and investment plans, and discussions will be held on specific collaboration plans in the fields of AI models, semiconductors, data centers, and physical AI.

During the event, President Lee will announce the "San Francisco AI Declaration," which outlines his vision of elevating Korea to an "irreplaceable nation" in the global AI ecosystem and outlines principles for international cooperation. This builds on the previously publicized three mega-projects, positioning their global integration with technology and capital networks as a starting point rather than confining them to domestic investment plans. Policy Chief Kim stated, "This gathering of Korea’s leading conglomerates in AI innovation and global big tech firms will serve as an opportunity to expand and concretely globalize the vision of the three mega-projects."

President Lee will also host a dinner inviting big tech and domestic business leaders. According to the Blue House, the sequence of official meetings, the summit, and the dinner will be used to strengthen cooperation between Korean firms and global big tech, thereby making follow-up investments and joint business projects more concrete.

On the 25th, he will attend the "Silicon Valley Venture Investment Meetup," where he will meet with the heads of six leading global venture capital (VC) firms in Silicon Valley. Attendees will include representatives from Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and New Enterprise Associates. After participating in an MOU signing ceremony between the National Pension Service and these VCs, President Lee will hold a roundtable discussion on connecting the US-Korea venture ecosystem and expanding international investment in domestic startups. The vision is to establish long-term partnerships between the National Pension Service and global VCs, thereby broadening the pathway for promising Korean startups to attract overseas investment and grow into global companies.

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Regional, Essential, and Public Healthcare Meeting held at the Blue House on July 22, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Meanwhile, beginning with his schedule in San Francisco, President Lee will visit Brazil, Chile, and Argentina in succession until August 3. From July 26 to 29, he will make a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, which will include a summit, a state luncheon, and a Korea-Brazil business roundtable. From July 29 to 30, he will make an official visit to Chile, hold a summit with President Jose Antonio Kast, and discuss ways to modernize the Korea-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

From July 30 to August 1, he will officially visit Argentina and hold a summit with President Javier Milei. This will be the first bilateral visit by a Korean president to Argentina in 22 years. On August 2, on his way back to Korea, he will hold a meeting with local Korean residents in Frankfurt, Germany, and return to Korea on August 3.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.