Nvidia is funneling $1 billion into South Korean internet and cloud provider Naver to fund the construction of an AI data center in South Korea. This investment will enable Naver to more than triple the facility's existing capacity, with the site leveraging Nvidia's cutting-edge AI hardware. This development is part of a broader strategy by Nvidia to expand its footprint in the Asian AI market.
In addition to Nvidia's direct investment, Naver has secured commitments from U.S. private equity firm Brookfield, which will contribute up to $9 billion as an exclusive capital partner. This brings the total investment commitments for the AI data center project to $10 billion. The facility, known as the GAK Sejong data center, is planned to grow to 200 megawatts, significantly exceeding the 55 megawatts previously announced, with a long-term goal for Naver to achieve 1 gigawatt of sovereign AI capacity.
Separately, Nvidia is also collaborating with South Korean conglomerate SK Group to build more than 2 gigawatts of AI data centers across the Korean Peninsula. This massive undertaking aims to address the growing demand for computing power and improve access to crucial memory chips, which have become scarce due to the global expansion of AI data centers. SK Hynix, a subsidiary of SK Group, and Samsung Electronics are major global suppliers of these essential memory components.
These significant investments come amid a visit by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to the U.S., where he is attending events in Silicon Valley. The new AI facilities, designed to run on Nvidia's Vera Rubin and Blackwell platforms, are expected to be ready by 2028. This strategic push highlights the intense global competition for AI infrastructure, emphasizing the need for power, memory, and data center space, with countries like South Korea striving for independent computing capabilities.
