Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has returned to South Korea after over a decade to meet industry leaders and government representatives, shoring up the company's alliances in the region as it looks to advance AI and XR technologies.
It was rumored prior to his arrival that Zuckerberg would likely be meeting with Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong. Even as the meeting wasn't previously confirmed, it appears that the two have indeed met at a historic Samsung office in Seoul.
Samsung Chairman and Zuckerberg meet after a decade
Zuckerberg has had some high-profile meetings during his short trip to South Korea. He's met with the leaders of LG, another major South Korean conglomerate, as well as had an audience with the country's president. Discussions have ranged from AI and XR to potential collaboration opportunities on semiconductors.
It's unlikely that a major business leader who comes to this country seeking to collaborate in technologies of the future to not meet with Samsung, given not just its position as the country's largest conglomerate but also the highly advanced work that Samsung is doing in these fields.
A meeting between Zuckerberg and Lee Jae-yong was also expected given their previous seven-hour long rendezvous in 2013 which ended up with Samsung launching the Gear VR platform alongside Oculus, a Meta-owned company. The two met for a second time later that year to discuss further collaborations.
Local media is reporting that Lee Jae-yong hosted Zuckerberg for a dinner at Seungjiwon in central Seoul. Seungjiwon is a historic development in the heart of the city that was used by late chairman and Lee Jae-yong's father Lee Kun-hee as his office. Samsung routinely hosts high-profile visiting dignitaries at this location.
While there's no official handout of what was discussed during the meeting, market analysts believe that Zuckerberg is likely interested in having Samsung produce exclusive chips for Meta's AI devices, in a bid to reduce the company's reliance on NVIDIA. With Samsung harboring its own AI and XR ambitions, it appears that the stars have aligned once again for a fruitful partnership between the two companies.
