On the heels of Chinese AI firm DeepSeek making a huge splash in OpenAI's American backyard, OpenAI is diving into expanding in Asia, with major commercial deals that will also help it train its AI on more Asian-language content and user behavior -- a gateway to doing more business in these markets in the future on its own.

OpenAI said on Tuesday it will develop artificial intelligence products for South Korea with chat app operator Kakao, unveiling a second major alliance with a high-profile Asian partner this week. OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman also separately sat down with the leaders of Samsung Electronics,

OpenAI chairman Sam Altman inked a deal with South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp. on Tuesday, marking the second major Asian partnership for the ChatGPT maker this week amid growing competition from Ch