[Exclusive] Sam Altman: “I want to build a post-smartphone device with Samsung”

[Financial News] OpenAI CEO Sam Altman proposed at a recent meeting with Samsung executives that he wanted to “work closely with Samsung to develop a joint device.” As global IT companies prepare for the post-smartphone era, this is seen as an expression of his desire for OpenAI to jointly develop its planned next-generation AI device with Samsung and challenge Apple’s dominance. As Altman has repeatedly visited South Korea this year to discuss AI technology and workplace innovation with Samsung’s management and build an “AI alliance,” attention is focused on whether Samsung Electronics will take part in OpenAI’s AI device.
According to the Q&A from a meeting between Sam Altman and Samsung executives on the 31st of last month, obtained exclusively by Financial News on the 11th, Altman responded to the executives’ question, “What kind of device do you think will become an AI companion?” by saying, “It will be the next version of the smartphone,” adding, “I want a device that, rather than relying on apps, lets AI proactively access and manage physical and virtual life while being as unobtrusive as possible.”
OpenAI is preparing an AI device for next year, with a screenless smart speaker smaller than the palm of a hand considered the most likely candidate.
Altman emphasized that “the next-generation device will bring in information from the physical world,” adding, “However, society must manage privacy issues and excessive dependence on AI.”
As for “AI glasses,” he expressed reservations, saying, “They could be great for personal productivity, but when the person you’re talking to is looking at something else, it feels like technology is getting between people, and I’m uncomfortable with that.”
Altman also gave Samsung’s executives strong advice, saying that now was the right time to boost corporate competitiveness through a “full-scale AI transformation” and that they “must go all in and bet on AI.” The recommendation was to entrust AI with the entire workflow, as OpenAI does, to strengthen Samsung’s competitive edge.
His argument is that if AI is merely a tool for increasing human productivity, productivity will improve only two to three times, but entrusting it with the entire workflow could boost productivity by as much as 100 times. Altman said, “We need to see whether AI can go beyond simply making employees more efficient, lead the entire process, and get things done 100 times faster and at a lower cost.”
He explained that OpenAI had also been fully introducing AI into all its work and services for the past three months, and that when employees enter their task priorities into AI, it synthesizes the context and handles the work.
Altman emphasized that OpenAI’s coding agent Codex has reached the point where, if asked to add staff, the AI pushes back and asks, “Prove why you can’t do that work.” This means AI has advanced to the point where it can also make “management decisions,” a task once considered uniquely human.
Altman warned, “Even in the mobile era, companies that moved first survived, while most that were one or two years late were pushed out. The AI transition must be carried out quickly, and companies cannot remain competitive without an AI foundation. In three to five years, companies cannot remain competitive without an AI foundation.”
The meeting focused on strengthening the judgment and execution capabilities of executives leading Samsung’s artificial intelligence transformation (AX). Executives from Samsung’s electronics, finance and biotech businesses, which have different business structures, all attended and posed candid questions to Sam Altman, including, “What is the biggest bottleneck to expanding AI?” and “How do you manage profit pressures while investing?”
[email protected] Park So-hyun, Kim Hak-jae and Lim Su-bin Reporter