Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind and widely known as the “father of AlphaGo,” visited South Korea and held a series of high-level meetings with the country’s top business leaders to explore expanded cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI).
According to industry sources on April 28, Hassabis met separately with Lee Jae-yong, Chey Tae-won, and Koo Kwang-mo. The discussions reportedly covered a wide range of collaboration opportunities spanning semiconductors, mobile devices, telecommunications, and robotics.
The meetings come as global competition intensifies among Big Tech firms to dominate large-scale AI ecosystems. Hassabis’ visit is seen as part of a broader effort to strengthen strategic partnerships with South Korean companies, leveraging their strengths in semiconductors, electronics, and connectivity.
A key focus of the discussions was the expansion of AI infrastructure and device ecosystems. Google has been advancing its proprietary tensor processing units (TPUs) while maintaining cooperation with SK hynix for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) supply. The company is also deepening collaboration with Samsung Electronics in both semiconductor and mobile segments, aiming to build a vertically integrated AI ecosystem that spans models, chips, and devices.
During talks with Samsung, AI smartphones were a central topic. Executives from Samsung’s mobile division, including President Noh Tae-moon, reportedly discussed optimizing Google’s generative AI model Gemini for smartphones and strengthening on-device AI capabilities. Industry observers expect AI features to expand further across Samsung’s Galaxy lineup.
With SK Group, discussions centered on semiconductor and telecommunications infrastructure. The combination of SK hynix’s HBM technology and SK telecom’s network capabilities was highlighted as a way to enhance competitiveness in AI data centers and cloud infrastructure. As demand for AI computing rises sharply, optimizing memory and network performance has become a critical priority.
Hassabis also held a closed-door meeting with LG Group at LG Twin Towers in Seoul. The meeting included Ryu Jae-cheol and officials from LG AI Research, where discussions reportedly focused on joint AI model development and collaboration in “physical AI” fields such as robotics. LG’s growing interest in robotics as a future growth engine was said to be a key topic.
Separately, LG Electronics is also reported to have met with Madison Huang, a senior director at NVIDIA, to explore additional cooperation in robotics, signaling broader efforts to build global AI alliances.
Hassabis emphasized the importance of Korea’s industrial capabilities, stating that partnerships with Korean companies will continue to expand and deepen. He noted that South Korea’s strengths across semiconductors, robotics, and advanced manufacturing position it as a key player in the AI era.
Hassabis is also scheduled to attend the “Google for Korea 2026” event on April 29, where he will hold a dialogue with Lee Sedol, famous for his historic match against AlphaGo, and participate in a friendly match with Shin Jin-seo, the current world No. 1.
