South Korea Advances Sovereign AI Infrastructure with NVIDIA Partnership
At the recent APEC CEO Summit, NVIDIA announced a strategic collaboration with South Korean public institutions and private enterprises to establish a sovereign AI infrastructure nationwide. This ambitious initiative will deploy hundreds of thousands of NVIDIA GPUs across sovereign cloud platforms and AI manufacturing hubs, targeting key sectors such as automotive, telecommunications, and industrial manufacturing.
South Korea’s Strategic Position in the AI Era
Jensen Huang, NVIDIA’s founder and CEO, emphasized South Korea’s pivotal role in the ongoing AI industrial revolution. He highlighted that just as the country has historically excelled in producing advanced ships, automobiles, semiconductors, and electronics, it is now poised to become a global leader in exporting AI intelligence. Huang compared the importance of accelerated computing infrastructure to essential utilities like power grids and broadband networks, underscoring its critical role in future economic growth.
Bae Kyung-hoon, South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, echoed this sentiment, stating that AI has evolved beyond innovation to become the backbone of emerging industries, positioning South Korea at the forefront of transformative change.
Expanding GPU Deployment for Sovereign AI
The South Korean government plans to introduce up to 50,000 NVIDIA GPUs to bolster sovereign AI initiatives supporting both commercial enterprises and academic research. The initial rollout includes 13,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs, distributed through major cloud providers such as NAVER Cloud, NHN Cloud, and Kakao. This expansion also encompasses the development of a National AI Computing Center, designed to provide startups, researchers, and organizations with access to sovereign AI infrastructure for model training and application development.
Collaborations in AI-Driven Network and 6G Research
NVIDIA is partnering with industry leaders including Samsung, SK Telecom, ETRI, KT, LGU+, and Yonsei University to advance AI-RAN and 6G network technologies. This research focuses on offloading computational tasks from end-user devices to network base stations, aiming to reduce energy consumption and operational costs while enhancing the efficiency of sovereign AI services.
Leading Korean Corporations Invest in AI Factories
Samsung’s AI-Enabled Chip Manufacturing Revolution
Samsung and NVIDIA are jointly developing a cutting-edge AI factory integrating over 50,000 NVIDIA GPUs to revolutionize chip production. This facility will leverage data-driven manufacturing techniques such as predictive maintenance and process optimization to enhance semiconductor fabrication efficiency.
Jay Y. Lee, Executive Chairman of Samsung Electronics, reflected on the longstanding partnership with NVIDIA, dating back to the 1990s, and expressed enthusiasm for their continued collaboration in pioneering AI-driven manufacturing innovations.
Samsung plans to utilize NVIDIA’s CUDA-X libraries alongside software from Synopsys, Cadence, and Siemens to accelerate circuit design and production workflows. Additionally, NVIDIA Omniverse will be employed to create digital twins of manufacturing plants and equipment, enabling real-time simulation, testing, and logistics management to support broader sovereign AI adoption.
Integration of NVIDIA’s cuLitho library into Samsung’s computational lithography tools has already yielded significant performance improvements, facilitating faster scaling in chip fabrication.
Beyond manufacturing, Samsung is developing large language models deployed across hundreds of millions of devices to enhance translation and reasoning capabilities. The company is also expanding into robotics using NVIDIA Isaac Sim, NVIDIA Cosmos, and the Jetson Thor edge platform, reinforcing its leadership in sovereign AI ecosystems.
SK Group’s Expanding AI Infrastructure
SK Group is constructing an AI factory equipped with over 50,000 NVIDIA GPUs, expected to be operational by late 2027. This facility will provide GPU-as-a-service solutions to SK subsidiaries and external clients, aligning with South Korea’s sovereign AI objectives. Collaborative efforts between NVIDIA and SK also include the development of next-generation high-bandwidth memory technologies for GPUs.
Chey Tae-Won, Chairman of SK Group, highlighted the transformative potential of AI to elevate Korean industries beyond conventional limits of scale, speed, and precision.
SK Telecom is developing an industrial AI cloud platform powered by NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs, supporting semiconductor manufacturing, digital twin creation, and AI-driven internal operations.
SK hynix employs NVIDIA PhysicsNeMo tools to enhance chip design simulations, aiming to boost accuracy and accelerate development cycles. The company is also piloting NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs integrated with Synopsys software to build autonomous fab digital twins.
To empower its workforce, SK Telecom is creating a foundational AI model named A.X., utilizing NVIDIA NIM microservices and NVIDIA AI Enterprise. This model will assist thousands of employees in chip development and operational tasks through intelligent internal agents.
Hyundai Motor Group’s AI Factory and Autonomous Driving Initiatives
Hyundai Motor Group is deepening its collaboration with NVIDIA to advance autonomous driving, factory automation, and robotics. The planned AI factory will harness NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs for comprehensive AI model training, simulation, and deployment.
Jensen Huang remarked on AI’s transformative impact across industries, particularly in transportation, where NVIDIA’s platforms are reshaping vehicle design, manufacturing, and autonomous systems.
The partnership includes a joint investment of approximately $3 billion to enhance South Korea’s physical AI infrastructure. Key components include the NVIDIA AI Technology Center, Hyundai’s Physical AI Application Center, and new data centers aimed at cultivating AI talent.
Hyundai will utilize NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise to develop digital twins of its factories, facilitating virtual testing, robotic integration, and predictive maintenance. Additionally, NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor will power in-vehicle AI systems, enhancing driver assistance and infotainment capabilities.
Expansion of Sovereign AI Models and Research
NAVER Cloud’s GPU Deployment and Industry-Specific AI Models
NAVER Cloud is set to deploy over 60,000 GPUs dedicated to sovereign and physical AI applications. The company plans to develop specialized AI models tailored to industries such as shipbuilding and public safety, addressing sector-specific challenges with advanced AI solutions.
Government-Led Sovereign AI Foundation Models
The Ministry of Science and ICT spearheads the Sovereign AI Foundation Models initiative, leveraging NVIDIA NeMo and open Nemotron datasets. Collaborators include LG AI Research, NC AI, SK Telecom, and Upstage. These models focus on enhancing language understanding and reasoning capabilities for diverse applications.
LG’s Contributions to Physical AI and Startup Support
LG is actively engaged in physical AI research in partnership with NVIDIA and supports startups and researchers through its EXAONE models, which include applications in healthcare and other critical sectors.
Quantum Computing and Scientific Innovation
The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) plans to integrate NVIDIA accelerated computing into its sixth-generation national supercomputer, HANGANG. This initiative includes support for NVQLink, an open framework connecting quantum processors with GPU clusters, and the development of scientific foundation models using NVIDIA PhysicsNeMo for physics-informed AI research.
Fostering AI Startups and Innovation Ecosystems
NVIDIA, in collaboration with local partners, is establishing a startup alliance through the NVIDIA Inception program. This network provides startups with access to accelerated computing resources from cloud providers like SK Telecom and support from venture capital firms. Additionally, NVIDIA will participate in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ N-Up AI incubation program to nurture emerging AI enterprises.
