Nvidia and SK Group are launching a more than $500 billion AI initiative spanning large-scale data centers and next-generation memory. The plan includes a 2-gigawatt AI data center from SK Telecom powered by Nvidia’s Vera Rubin chips and SK Hynix’s HBM4 memory, with the first facility due online in 2027. Nvidia will also relocate leading AI researchers to South Korea and collaborate with Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) to build “Korea AI.”
The scope of the partnership
The initiative includes a long-term partnership with SK Hynix to secure next-generation memory supply for Nvidia and jointly develop high-bandwidth memory for AI training, AI agents, and physical AI applications.
Nvidia will also collaborate with Samsung Electronics on chip design. Separately, Nvidia, Naver, and Brookfield plan to expand Naver’s AI data center in South Korea. Nvidia and Hyundai Motor Group agreed to jointly develop autonomous Genesis vehicles, while Nvidia is working with LG on a power generation system for factories and homes, as well as collaborating with Fujitsu on a physical AI push.
The Human Capital Commitment: Building Korea’s AI Brain Trust
Nvidia isn’t just working on hardware; the company is also investing in human capital. Jensen Huang shared that a bunch of their top AI researchers are actually moving from California to South Korea. They’ll be working side-by-side with KAIST to build “Korea AI” and create a brand-new Korean large language model (LLM).
Huang also mentioned plans to establish an “AI Frontier Lab” in Korea to promote joint research. The announcements came during President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to San Francisco, where he met with Huang and other tech CEOs, including Sam Altman and Dario Amodei.
A $300 million joint research center will support at least 10 KAIST researchers annually with Nvidia internships, and the company plans to hire top Korean talent for full-time roles, creating a pipeline from academic research to enterprise AI.
This is a huge deal for South Korea, even more than just the money. It shows that Nvidia is betting big on Korea as a major AI hub; they are not just there to sell chips; they are actually putting down roots and helping to build the local AI scene from the ground up.