Samsung Korea is rolling out ChatGPT Enterprise and Codex to every employee, and extending the deployment across its global Device eXperience division. OpenAI calls it one of the largest enterprise deals in its history, on ground that Anthropic had already started locking down.
Key Takeaways
- Every Samsung Korea employee gets ChatGPT Enterprise and Codex, with the DX division rolled out worldwide
- Codex usage in South Korea has jumped 800% since February according to OpenAI
- Samsung already supplies the memory chips powering OpenAI’s infrastructure, the deal seals a two-way partnership
A deployment that hits every Samsung function
Samsung Korea is giving ChatGPT Enterprise and Codex to every employee in the country, from researcher to administrative staff. The rollout extends in parallel to the Device eXperience division worldwide, the Samsung arm that runs smartphones, televisions and home appliances.
The scope covers research, manufacturing, marketing and administration. Codex is no longer just a developer tool, Samsung plans to use it to build internal tools and automate workflows in teams that never write a line of code.
OpenAI is pairing the announcement with a new capability. A record-and-replay mode now lets Codex memorize a chain of repetitive actions and replay them on demand. The feature pushes Codex into automation territory, not just code completion.
The contract spans multiple Samsung business areas. For OpenAI, it is the largest enterprise rollout ever signed, in its own words. The sheer size makes it a reference case for multinationals still hesitating to equip their full workforce.
Beyond technical teams, Samsung points to adoption already underway among non-developers. The contract essentially generalizes what pilot teams had already validated in the field.
Why Samsung signs now
Samsung is the supplier of the high-bandwidth memory powering OpenAI’s data centers. The rollout seals a two-way partnership. Samsung sells chips to OpenAI, OpenAI equips Samsung employees with its products.
That logic explains the timing. On Samsung’s side, the goal is to capture productivity across every function without locking into a single model vendor. On OpenAI’s side, the deal secures a massive industrial customer for the next twelve months.
Codex usage in Korea has jumped 800% since February, per OpenAI figures. That acceleration both precedes the announcement and justifies it. Samsung was not betting blind, its pilot teams were already using the tool heavily before the wider extension.
Codex today counts more than 5 million weekly active users globally. South Korea becomes a strategic foothold for OpenAI’s growth outside the United States.
For Samsung Korea, the move is also defensive. If Asian competitors equip their workforce and Samsung does not, the productivity gap sets in within months. The contract is as much an answer to local Korean rivals as a technical decision.
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A US battle in Korea that just shifted sides
South Korea had been Anthropic territory. OpenAI’s direct competitor had locked in NAVER, Samsung and LG just days earlier on a different scope. Samsung Korea is now playing both sides.
LG Electronics, Krafton, Toss and Seoul National University already use OpenAI tools. Korea becomes a full-scale lab for the two American giants, at a moment when each needs to prove enterprise revenue to its future investors.
In the medium term, this two-vendor stance from Samsung confirms that no strategic enterprise will bet on a single model. IT leaders prefer to mix vendors, even at a higher cost, to avoid being held hostage by one provider in case of technical or regulatory disruption.
OpenAI urgently needs to show that enterprise contracts can offset its spending pace. The $34 billion burn rate disclosed ahead of the IPO makes deals of this size essential.
The next wave of attention will move to Tokyo, Taipei and Europe. If OpenAI replicates the Korean model elsewhere, the balance with Anthropic on the enterprise battlefield flips within a few quarters.
Follow the story on Horizon.
