Samsung boss Lee Jae-yong has taken the company’s chip foundry chief to the US as part of a renewed effort to secure AI semiconductor orders from leading technology firms.

Samsung’s strategy at the 2026 Sun Valley Conference appears noticeably different from last year. Instead of focusing on broader corporate networking, Chairman Lee arrived with Han Jin-man, the executive leading Samsung’s foundry division.

This year’s guest list included Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

By attending the exclusive Sun Valley Conference alongside Foundry Business President Han Jin-man instead of a marketing executive, Samsung has sent a clear signal that expanding its contract chip business has become a top priority.

Samsung has been aggressively advancing its next-generation 2nm manufacturing process while trying to attract more high-profile customers.

The company’s choice of travel companion says more than any presentation or keynote could. Closed-door conversations often shape multi-billion-dollar semiconductor partnerships long before they’re announced publicly.

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