South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics posted a record quarterly profit on Thursday, driven by strong sales of chips crucial for artificial intelligence.

Operating profit for the first quarter rose over 750 percent year-on-year to 57.2 trillion won ($38.4 billion), the company said in an earnings release.

Net profit attributable to shareholders was 47.1 trillion won, beating forecasts by a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Sales hit 133.9 trillion won, an all-time quarterly high.

The company said it had "achieved record quarterly revenue and operating profit through AI technology innovations and proactive market response".

Its semiconductor division posted 53.7 trillion won in operating profit, accounting for the bulk of the total.

The company said its memory arm "surpassed its quarterly sales record by addressing high-value-added AI demand despite limited supply availability, with industry-wide memory price increases also a contributing factor".

Samsung Electronics had said this month that it expected its first-quarter operating profit to hit a record.

The South Korean government has pledged to make the country one of the world's top three AI powers alongside the United States and China.

Samsung has emerged as a key player -- along with rival SK hynix -- in the supply of high-performing chips in demand from companies racing to keep up with the fast-evolving AI industry.

South Korea's benchmark Kospi stock index opened at a fresh high of over 6,700 on Thursday following strong earnings figures from Samsung and US technology giants.