Samsung’s Lee Jae-yong heads to Sun Valley as AI chip race and supply chain competition intensify
Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong left for the annual Sun Valley Conference as global tech leaders weigh AI supply chains and Samsung reports record quarterly revenue.
Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong departed for the United States on Tuesday to attend the annual Sun Valley Conference, where chief executives from the world’s largest tech companies are expected to discuss the rapidly evolving AI industry as competition over semiconductor supply chains intensifies.
Lee departed for Seattle via the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center at around 5 p.m. Tuesday before heading to Sun Valley, Idaho, for the conference.
Hosted by U.S. investment bank Allen & Co., the invitation-only conference brings together executives from global tech and media companies including Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon and OpenAI. The event has long served as a venue for building relationships among top executives and has been the starting point for major mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships. It is also known as the “summer camp for billionaires.”
Lee has attended the conference every year since 2002, using the gathering to expand Samsung’s global business network.
This year’s meeting comes as competition in AI semiconductors has broadened beyond GPUs to encompass high bandwidth memory (HBM), foundry manufacturing, advanced packaging and data center infrastructure.
Samsung Electronics is one of the few companies with both memory chip and foundry businesses. Industry observers say its ability to supply both HBM and foundry services could become an increasingly valuable advantage as competition over AI supply chains deepens.
Lee is expected to exchange views with executives from major tech companies during the conference. Because the event is designed to foster trust among chief executives and lay the groundwork for long-term partnerships rather than finalize formal agreements, discussions on AI supply chain cooperation are expected to feature prominently.
Samsung Electronics also released its preliminary second-quarter earnings on Tuesday.
The company posted an estimated consolidated revenue of 17.1 trillion won ($11.2 billion) and operating profit of 8.94 trillion won, marking its highest quarterly revenue on record. Analysts cite robust demand for memory chips fueled by the rapid adoption of generative AI, along with firm pricing, drove the strong performance.
BY PARK YOUNG-WOO [kim.hayoon1@joongang.co.kr]
