NVIDIA, the first company to reach a $5 trillion market capitalisation, announced a large-scale collaboration with the South Korean government on October 30. This involves key industrial groups to develop advanced AI infrastructure nationwide.
The initiative, revealed during the APEC Summit, involves deploying more than 260,000 NVIDIA GPUs through partnerships with Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group, SK Group and NAVER Cloud.
The effort will accelerate AI in sectors such as manufacturing, mobility, semiconductors and telecommunications.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said, “Korea’s leadership in technology and manufacturing positions it at the heart of the AI industrial revolution, where accelerated computing infrastructure becomes as vital as power grids and broadband.”
The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) will invest in sovereign AI infrastructure, initially deploying 50,000 GPUs through national providers NHN Cloud, Kakao Corp., and NAVER Cloud.
According to Bae Kyung-hoon, South Korea’s deputy Prime Minister and minister of science and ICT, “Expanding our national AI infrastructure and developing technologies with NVIDIA is an investment that will reinforce South Korea’s strengths, including its manufacturing capabilities.”
Collaboration on AI Factories
Samsung Electronics will build a semiconductor AI factory powered by 50,000 NVIDIA GPUs to enhance chip design, robotics and smart manufacturing. The factory will integrate NVIDIA CUDA-X libraries and Omniverse software to improve simulation and production efficiency.
Jay Y Lee, executive chairman of Samsung Electronics, said, “From Samsung’s DRAM for NVIDIA’s graphics card in 1995 to our new AI factory, we are thrilled to continue our longstanding journey with NVIDIA in leading this transformation.”
Hyundai Motor Group will deploy a similar NVIDIA AI supercomputer with 50,000 Blackwell GPUs to develop intelligent mobility and autonomous driving solutions. The $3 billion investment includes the creation of an AI technology centre and a physical AI application centre.
Hyundai’s executive chair Euisun Chung said the partnership marks “a pivotal step forward” in building Korea’s AI ecosystem.
AI Factories, LLMs & Physical AI
SK Group is to establish an AI factory equipped with over 50,000 NVIDIA GPUs to support semiconductor research and the development of AI agents. SK Hynix and SK Telecom will leverage the facility for chip design, digital twins and robotics.
SK chairman Chey Tae-won said, “With the NVIDIA AI factory as our foundation, SK Group will forge the infrastructure that powers the next generation of memory, robotics and intelligent AI agents.”
NAVER Cloud will expand its AI capacity with more than 60,000 NVIDIA GPUs to develop large language models and support physical AI applications for enterprises. The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information will also collaborate with NVIDIA to establish a centre of excellence for quantum and scientific research.
With combined efforts from industry, government and academia, the initiative positions South Korea as a major player in the global AI race, driving innovation and job creation across multiple sectors.
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