A New Era of AI-Driven Innovation

South Korea’s commitment represents one of the largest national investments in agentic and physical AI to date. Backed by a powerful coalition including the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group, NAVER Cloud, and LG, the project aims to fundamentally transform key industries.

This surge in AI investment arrives alongside the APEC Summit, where leaders from 21 nations – including the United States, China, Japan, and Australia – are convening to discuss regional economic cooperation and technological advancements.

Celebrating a Quarter-Century of GeForce in Korea

The announcement builds upon NVIDIA’s long-standing relationship with South Korea, a nation that has consistently embraced cutting-edge technology. From pioneering the esports scene to fueling the explosive growth of PC-bangs (internet cafes), Korea has been a key driver of innovation in the gaming and technology sectors.

This legacy was celebrated with the recent GeForce Gamer Festival in Seoul, showcasing the latest GeForce RTX technology. Attendees enjoyed exclusive previews of unreleased titles, AION 2 and CINDER CITY, both enhanced with NVIDIA DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Generation. KRAFTON also demonstrated PUBG Ally, an AI-powered companion character for PUBG:Battlegrounds, leveraging NVIDIA ACE. The festival also featured esports competitions, including a legendary StarCraft match between Hong Jin-ho (YellOw) and Lee Yoon-yeol (NaDa), and performances by K-TIGERS and LE SSERAFIM.

Building the Foundation: Sovereign AI Infrastructure

At the heart of this transformation lies a sovereign AI infrastructure program led by MSIT. This program will deploy up to 50,000 of the latest NVIDIA GPUs through leading cloud providers – NHN Cloud, Kakao Corp., and NAVER Cloud – with an initial deployment of 13,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs. This infrastructure will provide the computational power necessary to drive AI innovation across the country.

AI Factories: Korea’s Industrial Powerhouses

The private sector is making substantial investments to complement the national infrastructure. Samsung, SK Group, and Hyundai Motor Group are each constructing AI factories equipped with up to 50,000 NVIDIA GPUs, while NAVER plans to deploy over 60,000 GPUs. These facilities will serve as the backbone for Korea’s AI-powered evolution in manufacturing, mobility, telecommunications, and robotics.

• Samsung is utilizing NVIDIA CUDA-X, cuLitho, Nemotron models, and Omniverse to create digital twins for semiconductor manufacturing and enhance its robotics capabilities with NVIDIA Cosmos and Isaac GR00T. Learn more about Samsung’s AI factory.
• SK Group is designing an AI factory capable of hosting 60,000 GPUs, including an AI cloud powered by NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs. SK Telecom will provide sovereign infrastructure for domestic businesses and startups to develop digital twins and robotics applications. Explore SK Group’s AI initiatives.
• Hyundai Motor Group is collaborating with the Korean government and NVIDIA to build an NVIDIA AI factory with 50,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs, focusing on AI model training, validation, and deployment for manufacturing, autonomous driving, and robotics. They will leverage NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor, NeMo, Nemotron, and Omniverse to simulate factory operations. Discover Hyundai’s AI factory plans.
• NAVER is expanding its NVIDIA AI infrastructure with an additional 60,000 GPUs, targeting both sovereign and physical AI workloads. The company aims to develop specialized models for shipbuilding, security, and AI services for Korean citizens.

Advancing AI Research: Language Models and Quantum Computing

The Korean government is also prioritizing foundational AI research. MSIT is leading a Sovereign AI Foundation Models project, collaborating with LG AI Research, NAVER Cloud, NC AI, SK Telecom, Upstage, and NVIDIA. This initiative will utilize NVIDIA NeMo software and open NVIDIA Nemotron datasets to develop Korean language models with advanced reasoning and speech capabilities.

NVIDIA and LG are working together to support academic institutions and startups with LG’s EXAONE models, including the EXAONE Path healthcare model – built with the MONAI framework – to aid in cancer diagnosis. Furthermore, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) is partnering with NVIDIA to establish a Center of Excellence for quantum computing and scientific research, leveraging its sixth-generation HANGANG supercomputer and the NVIDIA CUDA-Q platform.

The Future of Connectivity: AI-RAN and 6G

To drive the next generation of mobile networks, NVIDIA is collaborating with Samsung, SK Telecom, ETRI, KT, LGU+, and Yonsei University to develop AI-RAN and 6G infrastructure. This intelligent, low-power technology will offload GPU computation from devices to base stations, reducing energy consumption and extending battery life – a crucial step towards widespread robotics adoption.

Empowering the Next Generation of AI Innovators

To support Korea’s burgeoning AI startup ecosystem, NVIDIA is expanding the NVIDIA Inception program with a new startup alliance. Members will gain access to accelerated computing infrastructure from partners like SK Telecom, along with support from venture capital firms including IMM Investment, Korea Investment Partners, and SBVA. A new Center of Excellence powered by NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell GPUs will facilitate the development of physical AI applications, while the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute will offer AI upskilling programs to prepare Korea’s future workforce.

Frequently Asked Questions About South Korea’s AI Initiative

• What is sovereign AI and why is it important for South Korea? Sovereign AI allows South Korea to control its AI infrastructure and data, ensuring national security and fostering independent innovation.
• How many NVIDIA GPUs will be deployed as part of this initiative? Over 250,000 NVIDIA GPUs will be deployed across sovereign clouds and industrial AI factories throughout South Korea.
• Which companies are collaborating with NVIDIA and the South Korean government on this project? Key partners include Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group, NAVER Cloud, LG, NHN Cloud, Kakao Corp., and numerous research institutions.
• What are the primary applications of this AI infrastructure? The infrastructure will support advancements in manufacturing, mobility, telecommunications, robotics, healthcare, and language processing.
• What role will NVIDIA’s Blackwell GPUs play in this initiative? The NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs will provide the computational power necessary to train and deploy advanced AI models, driving innovation across various industries.
• How will this initiative impact the Korean workforce? The NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute will offer AI upskilling programs to train the next generation of AI professionals in South Korea.