Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (left) stands for a photograph with President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea throughout their assembly in Gyeongju, South Korea, throughout the APEC convention on Oct. 31, 2025. (pool picture)
Nvidia, the American expertise agency that leads the world’s marketplace for synthetic intelligence chips, introduced large-scale cooperation measures with Korean companies and the Korean authorities on Friday in an association that observers see as the results of the pursuits of every get together aligning.
Nvidia seeks to set the worldwide customary for chips and dominate the market, whereas South Korea sees manufacturing-based “bodily AI” as a brand new trade development engine. The settlement signifies a dedication to kind a veritable AI alliance.
In accordance with numerous sources within the IT trade on Sunday, the latest strikes of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was in Korea throughout the Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, are a part of his “world chip diplomacy.”
Huang has lately visited China, Japan, the Center East and the UK as a part of his chip gross sales initiative.
As a part of this initiative, Huang pledged to produce South Korea with 260,000 graphics processing models (GPUs), that are important to AI improvement, by the 12 months 2030.
The provision chain cooperation involving key Korean producers performed a vital half on this determination by Nvidia. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix provide high-bandwidth reminiscence (HBM) for Nvidia chips, and Hyundai Motor Firm has pursued innovation with Nvidia in self-driving autos, sensible factories and robotics. Naver has additionally engaged in discussions with Nvidia relating to joint improvement for the following technology of bodily AI platforms, together with Korea’s personal AI improvement mannequin.
By cooperating with Korean companies and the Korean authorities, Nvidia, which has relied on world Massive Tech companies, can diversify the gross sales community for its AI chips. As companies like Google and OpenAI pursue impartial chip improvement to cut back their dependence on Nvidia, Huang has discovered a gradual buyer base in Korea.
With Chinese language companies persevering with to shut the hole in expertise, China can also be searching for to localize AI chip manufacturing, one other risk to Nvidia. Concerning Nvidia’s memorandum of understanding with the Hyundai Motor Group on bodily AI, trade insiders are saying that the US chipmaker has opted to kind a partnership with Korean companies as a result of American companies like Tesla have their very own AI expertise, whereas the political danger of working with Chinese language EV companies is just too nice.
The brand new cooperative agreements permit Nvidia to increase the bottom of mid- to long-term demand for its chips. The Korean authorities, in the meantime, can speed up its initiatives to make South Korea one of many “Massive 3” AI superpowers and break by into bodily AI. It additionally offers South Korea, which has fallen behind China in robotics in self-driving vehicles, a chance to determine a base for brand spanking new improvements in manufacturing.
Huang views bodily AI as the following huge factor after generative AI like ChatGPT. To use such expertise to fields like industrial automation and robotics, South Korea’s manufacturing and IT infrastructure supplies a super testing floor.
Throughout his time in Korea, Huang confused that South Korea is among the few nations which have the three “basic, important and needed” qualities for AI success: software program, manufacturing and AI capability.
“As using AI chips that can ultimately exchange present GPUs expands, individuals say that Nvidia’s monopoly over the market gained’t final,” stated Lee Received-tae, a visiting professor at Kookmin College and former chief of the Korea Web and Safety Company.
“Huang selected South Korea as a accomplice in his subsequent transfer to construct a brand new trade base for bodily AI. As a result of we’re in determined want of AI chips, the cooperation framework is a win-win,” he added.
By Park Jong-o, workers reporter; Lee Jae-ho, workers reporter; Chae Ban-seok, workers reporter
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