Hassabis: "The AGI era is within five years... I will meet Samsung, SK and Hyundai"

Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, visited South Korea and said that the era of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) has now been brought forward by five years.
At the MOU signing ceremony held at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in Jongno District, Seoul, on the same day, Hassabis met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon and said, "We are facing a period of enormous transformation." He added, "Its impact will be 10 times greater than that of the Industrial Revolution, and it will unfold 10 times faster." Hassabis also emphasized, "During my visit, I have meetings scheduled with Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Hyundai Motor, Boston Dynamics and LG Electronics."
Industry observers say Hassabis is likely to discuss in depth a broader partnership with Samsung Electronics, which has formed the so-called Open Handset Alliance, covering everything from mobile phones and laptops to semiconductors and TVs.
Since formalizing its AI partnership with Google in 2024, Samsung Electronics has been equipping the Galaxy S24 series with Google Gemini. Samsung is still working with Google as it strengthens AI-based form factor innovation through projects such as Project Moohan. As a company building advanced AI services, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are also seen as key partners for closer discussions on the HBM alliance. Google is upgrading its in-house AI chip, the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), and HBM is an essential component of the TPU. Google has also formed multiple partnerships with Hyundai Motor. The two companies are currently maintaining a close alliance, including a plan for Google to supply 50,000 Hyundai Ioniq 5 vehicles to its robotaxi subsidiary Waymo.
Hassabis said the MOU with MSIT will focus on three areas: scientific progress through model sharing, nurturing the next generation of AI talent, and AI safety. Regarding the AI Campus that Google plans to establish in South Korea through the MOU, he explained, "I said I hoped there would be active exchanges of people," adding, "We discussed how to build the working-level team."
The Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, where the agreement was signed that day, was also the venue for the historic 2016 match between Google DeepMind's AlphaGo and Lee Sedol.