Zuckerberg Engages with LG and Samsung Executives in Seoul as Meta Expands AI Ambitions

Mark Zuckerberg met with LG Electronics and Samsung executives in Seoul to discuss cooperation in extended reality devices. LG expressed a keen interest in Meta's advanced technology demonstrations and aims to expedite its XR ventures through strategic collaboration. Discussions with Samsung likely revolved around potential collaborations and the production of Meta-exclusive chips.

Credit: LG Electronics via AP

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, met with top executives from LG Electronics and Samsung in Seoul, South Korea, as part of his Asian tour to strengthen partnerships and explore opportunities in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). The discussions focused on cooperation in extended reality (XR) devices, highlighting Meta's commitment to advancing AI technologies.

During his visit to South Korea, the second leg of his tour, Zuckerberg engaged in a two-hour meeting with LG Electronics CEO William Cho. The discussions revolved around business strategies for XR device development, with a particular emphasis on Meta's advanced technology demonstrations, including its large language models and on-device AI integration capabilities.

LG expressed its keen interest in Meta's XR technology and announced plans to enhance its strategic collaboration with the company. The aim is to expedite LG's ventures in XR, which encompasses augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, and related technologies.

Following the meeting with LG, Zuckerberg also met with Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, according to local media reports. The discussions likely centered around potential collaborations and the production of Meta-exclusive chips, reducing Meta's reliance on the dominant AI chip market player, NVIDIA.

Zuckerberg's visit to Asia aligns with Meta's intensified efforts in the field of artificial intelligence, as it competes with technology giants like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft. In a January Instagram reel, Zuckerberg outlined Meta's long-term vision of building general intelligence, responsibly open-sourcing it, and making it widely accessible for the benefit of all.

To support its AI plans, Meta is constructing a massive compute infrastructure equivalent to the power of 600,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs. This infrastructure will facilitate the training of Meta's Llama 3 generative AI model, which can generate content based on user prompts, similar to other AI systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft's Copilot.

Experts in the field, such as Kim Yang Paeng from the Korea Institute of Economics and Technology, believe that Meta's collaboration with LG and Samsung is crucial due to their status as leading tech companies outside the United States. In turn, Samsung and LG highly value partnerships with Meta, as Meta's products cater to a global customer base.

Zuckerberg's visit to Japan also included a meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, where they discussed AI and the future of technology. Zuckerberg expressed his excitement about the advancements happening in Japan.

Next on Zuckerberg's itinerary is India, where he will attend a wedding ceremony for the son of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, the head of Reliance Industries, an oil and technology conglomerate.

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• Mark Zuckerberg met with LG Electronics and Samsung executives in Seoul to discuss cooperation in extended reality devices.

• LG expressed a keen interest in Meta's advanced technology demonstrations and aims to expedite its XR ventures through strategic collaboration.

• Discussions with Samsung likely revolved around potential collaborations and the production of Meta-exclusive chips.

Source: AP NEWS