Altman pitches Samsung on co-developing next-generation AI devices

On October 31, 2026, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined a forum with Samsung Group executives at the Samsung Human Resources Development Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, where he proposed that the two companies work closely together to develop next-generation AI devices. The remark was reported by Korea's Financial News and carried by IT之家 on November 12. Asked by a Samsung executive what kind of device would become an AI companion, Altman replied that it would be the next version of the smartphone. He described such a device as the successor to the smartphone, with AI gradually replacing traditional apps and proactively managing users' digital and real-world lives. Rather than being app-centric, the device would let AI gather information on its own while disturbing the user as little as possible. Altman said these devices would be able to sense and gather information from the physical world, but noted that privacy protection and users' over-reliance on AI would need to be managed by society as a whole. On AI glasses, he said the products could be highly valuable for personal productivity, though their social experience is hard to judge, pointing to the awkwardness of someone wearing a camera and staring at their conversation partner. He also said companies must push ahead with AI transformation across the board in the coming years. There has been no public response from Samsung so far.