President Lee Meets Anthropic CEO: "Korea, the Optimal Partner for Asia’s AI Hub" (Comprehensive)

Discussions on Supplying Advanced Memory and Large-Scale Joint Investments in AI Data Centers
Amodei: "Cooperation with Korean Companies Is a Top Priority"

On the 24th (local time), President Lee Jae-myung met with Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, to discuss ways to expand investment partnerships aimed at developing Korea into Anthropic's key hub for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in Asia.

President Lee Jae-myung is exchanging greetings ahead of a meeting with Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, in San Francisco, USA, on the 24th (local time). July 25, 2026, Yonhap News Agency. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The two sides exchanged views on multiple topics, including cooperation in the supply of advanced memory semiconductors in Korea, large-scale joint investments in AI data centers within Korea, and strategies for the safe and responsible development and use of AI.

President Lee held this meeting as his first scheduled engagement in a series of worldwide big tech CEO meetings at a hotel in downtown San Francisco. President Lee rose from his seat to greet CEO Amodei upon his arrival, saying, "Welcome. It's a pleasure to meet you," and personally guided him to the sofa.

President Lee said, "I believe we met briefly during a luncheon in France, but there was no opportunity for a personal conversation at that time. It is a pleasure and honor to meet such a world-renowned figure in person."

He went on to say, "The Republic of Korea plans to significantly increase its investments in the field of artificial intelligence," and added, "We look forward to Anthropic’s special interest, investment, and contributions."

According to Chief Spokesperson Kang Yoojeong, even during the closed-door meeting, President Lee emphasized Korea's capabilities in semiconductor manufacturing, its advanced AI data center infrastructure, and its potential as a large-scale AI consumer market, and called for aggressive investments from Anthropic.

President Lee stated, "Korea is the optimal partner to serve as Anthropic's key AI infrastructure hub in Asia. The combination of Anthropic’s world-class AI model expertise with Korea’s semiconductor and AI data center capabilities, as well as the tremendous growth potential of our large AI consumer market, will provide growth opportunities for both sides."

He further stressed, "Korea is fully optimized to serve as Asia's key AI hub," adding, "I hope to see a significant expansion in investment and cooperation with Korean companies."

CEO Amodei expressed high expectations about collaborating with Korean companies. He responded, "Business cooperation with Korean firms is extremely exciting and is a top priority for us."

He discussed partnerships with Korean memory semiconductor companies, stating, "We are investing in many areas, including collaboration with memory manufacturers and AI data centers."

He also introduced that, based on the AI cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with the Ministry of Science and ICT, collaborations are being expanded in the areas of cybersecurity and the nurturing of the cyber industry.

President Lee also emphasized that the Korean government is focusing its investments to make the country number one in AI utilization across daily life, industry, and public sectors.

President Lee asserted, "Korea possesses various foundations such as talent and technology, and with strong public acceptance of technology, there is vast potential here. With the interest and support of advanced technology companies like Anthropic, we can create a new future together."

At the meeting, Anthropic was represented by Tom Brown, Head of Computing, and Michael Sellitto, Global Head of Policy. The Korean delegation included Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyunghoon, as well as Kim Yongbeom, policy chief at the Presidential Office.

After meeting with CEO Amodei, President Lee is scheduled to meet, in sequence, Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom. After his meetings with leading tech CEOs, he will attend the 'AI Summit' event in San Francisco, where he will deliver the ‘San Fran AI Declaration.’ The declaration reportedly reflects Korea's determination to become an 'irreplaceable nation' in the global AI ecosystem.

Accompanying President Lee at the AI Summit are Lee Jaeyong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics; Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group; Euisun Chung, Executive Chair of Hyundai Motor Group; and Lee Haejin, Chairman of Naver, among others.

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