At the APEC CEO Summit, NVIDIA and the South Korean government announced a sweeping collaboration to develop sovereign AI infrastructure, marking one of the most ambitious national AI initiatives to date. The partnership aims to position South Korea as a global leader in artificial intelligence, connecting public agencies, private companies, and academic institutions through high-performance computing networks powered by NVIDIA GPUs.
Scott Martin
South Korea’s AI Ambitions
Under the agreement, South Korea plans to deploy up to 50,000 new NVIDIA GPUs to strengthen sovereign AI programs that will serve businesses, research institutions, and startups. The initiative includes establishing a National AI Computing Center and expanding infrastructure through providers such as NAVER Cloud, NHN Cloud, and Kakao.
“Korea’s leadership in technology and manufacturing positions it at the heart of the AI industrial revolution,” said Jensen Huang, NVIDIA’s founder and CEO. “Just as Korea’s factories once led in ships, cars, and electronics, the nation can now produce intelligence as a new export that drives global transformation.”
Bae Kyung-hoon, South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, emphasized that the country stands “at the threshold of transformation,” with AI now forming the backbone of future industries.
Tech Giants Lead the Charge
NVIDIA’s partnerships with Samsung, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group, LG, and major telecom firms will accelerate the rollout of AI infrastructure across sectors including chipmaking, manufacturing, telecommunications, and autonomous driving.
Samsung plans to build a next-generation AI factory powered by over 50,000 NVIDIA GPUs, combining chip production with accelerated computing for predictive maintenance, process optimization, and real-time simulation. The company will use NVIDIA Omniverse to create digital twins of its facilities and NVIDIA cuLitho to enhance computational lithography, improving semiconductor yield and efficiency.
Samsung is also advancing large language models to power AI features across hundreds of millions of devices and plans to expand into robotics using NVIDIA’s Isaac Sim and Jetson Thor platforms.
SK Group’s Expanding AI Capacity
SK Group is building an AI factory with more than 50,000 NVIDIA GPUs, scheduled for completion by 2027. The facility will offer GPU-as-a-service solutions for industrial clients, aligning with South Korea’s sovereign AI strategy.
SK hynix is leveraging NVIDIA’s PhysicsNeMo tools for chip design simulations, while SK Telecom develops a foundation model, A.X., to support employees across chip development and operations. These efforts reflect SK’s goal of integrating AI across all aspects of its business ecosystem.
Hyundai Drives AI into Manufacturing and Mobility
Hyundai Motor Group and NVIDIA are investing roughly $3 billion to build a dedicated AI factory supporting autonomous driving, robotics, and manufacturing automation. Hyundai will use NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor for advanced in-vehicle AI systems and Omniverse Enterprise to simulate production lines through digital twins.
“AI is revolutionizing every industry,” said Huang. “From vehicle design to robotics, NVIDIA’s platforms are transforming how the world moves.”
National Research and AI Sovereignty
The Ministry of Science and ICT is leading a Sovereign AI Foundation Models project using NVIDIA NeMo and open Nemotron datasets. Partners including LG AI Research, SK Telecom, NC AI, and Upstage will develop large language and reasoning models tailored for national use.
LG is collaborating with NVIDIA on physical AI applications, supporting startups and healthcare projects built on its EXAONE model. Meanwhile, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) plans to integrate NVIDIA accelerated computing into its next national supercomputer, HANGANG, which will explore quantum-classical hybrid systems through NVQLink architecture.
A New Era for Sovereign AI
Beyond corporate alliances, NVIDIA is working with the South Korean government to foster an AI startup ecosystem through programs such as NVIDIA Inception and the N-Up AI incubation initiative, offering local innovators access to cutting-edge computing resources.
As South Korea deepens its partnership with NVIDIA, the country is positioning itself not just as a global technology powerhouse but as a hub for sovereign AI innovation — where digital intelligence becomes a national asset driving the next industrial revolution.
