NVIDIA and South Korea Partner to Accelerate National AI Infrastructure and Innovation
South Korea Outlines AI Future With NVIDIA and Partners at San Francisco Summit
At the AI Summit in San Francisco on Friday, July 24, 2026, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and technology leaders met with NVIDIA to detail a push into advanced computing infrastructure, physical AI, and semiconductor manufacturing. Building on discussions from NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s visit to Korea the previous month, the summit established major infrastructure expansions—including a scaled-up 200-megawatt GAK Sejong data center buildout by NAVER, Brookfield, and NVIDIA utilizing the Vera Rubin platform—and joint academic research laboratories aimed at anchoring South Korea as a pivotal global center for artificial intelligence innovation.
The Tech TL;DR:
- Infrastructure Scale: NAVER, Brookfield, and NVIDIA are expanding NAVER’s NVIDIA DSX AI factory at the GAK Sejong data center to 200 megawatts. This facility will integrate approximately 100,000 GPUs built on the NVIDIA Vera Rubin architecture.
- Hardware Partnerships: SK Group announced a comprehensive partnership deploying NVIDIA Vera Rubin infrastructure powered by SK hynix HBM4 memory, while Hyundai Motor Group integrated physical AI robot reference platforms with 50,000 Blackwell GPUs and DRIVE Hyperion.
- Academic Integration: KAIST and Seoul National University established joint research labs and NVIDIA AI Technology Centers (NVAITCs) to develop agentic AI and physical AI models tailored for the Korean language and local industry.
Infrastructure Scaling and Vera Rubin Deployment at NAVER and SK Group
The technical roadmap unveiled in San Francisco centers on massive compute density and next-generation memory architecture. According to official summit announcements, NAVER, Brookfield, and NVIDIA are expanding NAVER’s NVIDIA DSX AI factory at the GAK Sejong data center to 200 megawatts. This facility will integrate approximately 100,000 GPUs built on the NVIDIA Vera Rubin platform, tripling the scope of the initial buildout announced in June 2026. Concurrently, SK Group outlined a comprehensive partnership to deploy NVIDIA Vera Rubin infrastructure backed by SK hynix HBM4 memory to satisfy escalating enterprise compute demand.
Physical AI and Automotive Integration Across Hyundai Motor Group
Beyond hyperscale data centers, the summit highlighted the deployment of physical AI and robotics. Hyundai Motor Group outlined an industrial strategy anchored by a robot reference platform developed with NVIDIA, scaling an infrastructure buildout that utilizes 50,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs. Furthermore, Hyundai is integrating the NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion autonomous vehicle development platform, combining NVIDIA DRIVE AGX in-vehicle computing with the safety-certified NVIDIA DriveOS operating system.
Academic Collaboration and Open Model Integration via KAIST and SNU
To secure long-term engineering talent and domestic software sovereignty, NVIDIA announced deep academic partnerships with South Korea’s premier research institutions. NVIDIA and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) established a joint AI research lab at the KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI in Seoul, focusing on agentic AI for the Korean market. Additionally, KAIST’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Seoul National University (SNU) are planning NVIDIA AI Technology Centers (NVAITCs) to drive research in physical AI and AI for science utilizing NVIDIA Nemotron and NVIDIA Cosmos open world foundation models.
Executive Alignment and the San Francisco AI Declaration
The technical commitments were solidified during meetings between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang at the Fairmont San Francisco, preceding a high-profile stage event at the Midway. President Lee delivered his “San Francisco AI Declaration,” outlining a multitrillion-dollar initiative in AI semiconductors, hyperscale data centers, and public service integration. Lee, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, and NAVER founder Hae-jin Lee discussed the foundational role of South Korean memory manufacturing and semiconductor fabrication in the global AI ecosystem.
“There really would not have been what we have, this incredible AI revolution, without Korea,” Sam Altman stated during the panel discussion. Jensen Huang echoed this sentiment regarding memory innovation: “If not for the invention of HBM memory in Korea, NVIDIA wouldn’t have been able to invent the supercomputers that power AI today.”
FAQ
What is the scale of the NAVER GAK Sejong data center expansion?
According to summit announcements on July 24, 2026, NAVER, Brookfield, and NVIDIA are expanding the GAK Sejong data center to 200 megawatts, utilizing roughly 100,000 GPUs built on the NVIDIA Vera Rubin platform.
Which hardware architectures are being deployed by Hyundai Motor Group?
Hyundai Motor Group is deploying a physical AI strategy utilizing 50,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs, a robot reference platform developed with NVIDIA, and the NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion autonomous vehicle development platform running on safety-certified NVIDIA DriveOS.
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