OpenAI has established a legal entity in South Korea, seeking to propel further adoption of its artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

The ChatGPT-maker plans to open an office in Seoul in coming months and is hiring staff to support partnerships with companies and policymakers, it said in a release Monday.

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South Korea has the largest number of paying ChatGPT subscribers outside the US, according to OpenAI. The country would be OpenAI’s third office in Asia, following Japan and Singapore. The San Francisco-based company now employs almost 40 people in Japan and a further 20 in Singapore, it said.

OpenAI sparked a global wave of interest in AI with the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. This week, Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon is traveling across Asia to meet with government officials and potential industry partners to discuss AI infrastructure and OpenAI software use.

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“Korea’s full-stake AI ecosystem makes it one of the most promising markets in the world for meaningful AI impact, from silicon to software, and students to seniors,” Kwon said in the statement.