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During his tour of Asian countries, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol his intention to enhance collaboration with Samsung Electronics for AI chips as a strategy to mitigate geopolitical risks associated with Taiwan, where TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer, is located.
According to a South Korean presidential official at a briefing today, Zuckerberg and Yoon discussed opportunities for further collaboration in the artificial intelligence and extended reality sectors.
AI processors, which are more efficient than current chips, have become a top priority for companies in the AI field, including Meta for its future social media and hardware device businesses.
Zuckerberg met with Samsung leaders, including Samsung’s executive chairman Jay Y. Lee, on Wednesday night to explore possible cooperation related to AI processors, semiconductors, and extended reality. When reaching out to Samsung for a reaction to the news on Zuckerberg’s meeting, a Samsung official chose not to comment but also did not deny it.
TSMC inaugurated its first semiconductor manufacturing facility in Japan to broaden its supply chains beyond Taiwan due to the escalating U.S.-China technological conflict. Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM), owned by TSMC and founded in 2020 via collaboration between the Japanese government and companies, began building the factory in April 2022. JASM plans to establish a second semiconductor manufacturing facility in Japan, with construction scheduled to begin by the end of 2024.
The inventor of Meta met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday to discuss artificial intelligence and semiconductors. Japan aims to rejuvenate its chip manufacturing sector, which is currently lagging behind Taiwan and South Korea by around 10 years in terms of next-generation semiconductor technology.
Zuckerberg’s journey aligns with the significant worldwide competition in AI chip development. Nvidia has a significant presence in the global AI chip industry, creating opportunities for nations with a history of processing to revitalize their research efforts. Tech firms developing AI businesses are eager to provide help to reduce their reliance on Nvidia. The social network company has been increasing its attempts to acquire AI chips and developing its own AI chip, Artemis, for its data centers. Major technology corporations such as Microsoft, OpenAI, Amazon, and Google are all actively seeking AI chips to further their AI goals.
Meta’s goal for extended reality: Meeting with LG
Today’s discussions are part of a series of trips that the Meta CEO has been making across the area. Zuckerberg recently met with LG Electronics CEO William Cho in Seoul as part of his trip to Asia. LG Electronics reported a two-hour meeting with Zuckerberg to explore a possible strategic partnership on extended reality (XR) device development.
When asked about specific plans between the two parties, an LG Electronics spokesperson stated that LG Electronics and Meta have been collaborating closely prior to the recent top management meeting and anticipate more opportunities in the future. There is no information provided on the financial arrangements or the exact items involved in a potential partnership.
The LG spokeswoman said that the company’s CEO, Cho, informed local media following the meeting that the senior management of the two firms discussed the strategic directions and timetables of the partnership.
According to LG, the company wants to create a distinctive ecosystem in the recently established XR industry by integrating Meta’s extended reality (XR) platform with its content and consumer products, such as TVs.
LG, like all other IT companies worldwide, is now emphasizing the importance of AI. Realistically, it has not significantly impacted the AI industry so far as a chipmaker, AI product developer, or service provider. Meta offers LG an opportunity to collaborate with a firm that has achieved greater progress but does not directly compete with LG in the broader consumer electronics industry. This partnership also helps counterbalance the influence of other major players in the AI sector, such as Google and OpenAI.
The company highlighted that Cho showed a strong interest in Meta’s advanced technology demonstrations, particularly focusing on Meta’s large language models and its potential for on-device AI integration. Cho also tried out the Quest 3 headset and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses recently launched by Meta.
LG ceased its global mobile business in April 2021 and redirected its attention to burgeoning sectors such as smart homes, connected devices, the Internet of Things (IoT), electric vehicle (EV) components, robotics, and artificial intelligence platforms.
LG announced in late November the establishment of an extended reality (XR) team inside its home entertainment business as part of a company reorganization to accelerate the development of an XR device, with a target launch year of 2025.
A Meta spokesman expressed enthusiasm about a prominent consumer electronics leader joining their efforts to develop the next wave of XR gadgets. Meta’s goal for a more open ecosystem relies on cooperation with innovative firms like LG to enhance global access to future computing platforms.
