Korean firms chosen as ideal AI-era partners
Nvidia-Korea alliance put on display to the world
Semiconductor to AI factory: a lock-in strategy takes shape
'Korea excels across manufacturing and software'
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang wrapped up a five-day visit to South Korea on Tuesday, declaring that "building our advanced supercomputing without Korean technology is impossible" and promising to return. "There is so much business to do here," he said. "I'll be back soon."
Huang made the remarks as he departed through the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center in Gangseo-gu at 9:03 a.m. Tuesday. "Collaboration with Korean partners is moving very quickly," he said. "So there are really a lot of opportunities for me here."
Having packed his schedule with back-to-back partner meetings throughout the visit, Huang was asked whether he planned to return. "You all need a rest," he said. "My samgyeopsal and fried chicken friends need a rest too." He added, however, that he was "looking forward to coming back soon."
Asked to name the highlights of the trip, Huang pointed to a multi-year partnership with SK Hynix and an AI cloud partnership with SK Telecom and Naver. "Those were very good announcements — a win-win for both sides," he said. "I was happy to be able to announce such major partnerships."
When pressed on what both sides stood to gain from the deals, Huang said Nvidia's greatest contribution to Korea was "inventing the AI industry and creating the AI ecosystem here." "We will grow the AI industry together," he added.
Huang's view of Korean companies is seen as having fundamentally changed. After Nvidia rose to become the world's leading AI company, Huang traveled extensively to China, Japan, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, France and elsewhere, but conspicuously skipped South Korea — prompting talk of a "Korea bypass." This visit, analysts say, signals a complete shift in how Huang views the Korean market and the capabilities of its companies.
During the trip, Huang moved at a relentless pace, meeting with all four of Korea's major conglomerates as well as robotics, gaming, telecommunications and cloud companies, startups, universities, a PC bang and even a baseball stadium.
He also signaled ambitions to expand Nvidia's partnership with Korea well beyond memory chips into AI data centers, autonomous driving and robotics — ultimately building what observers are calling an Nvidia "AI universe" inside the country.
Departing Tuesday, Huang reiterated the point. "There are very large opportunities in Korea in robotics and AI infrastructure," he said. "There are also great opportunities in working with companies here to expand their business beyond Korea. I'm very excited about that."
The plan involves supplying Korean manufacturers with Nvidia's proprietary software platforms — Omniverse for digital twins, Isaac for robotics and Cosmos as a physical AI foundation model — while simultaneously gathering data accumulated on Korean factory floors to further advance Nvidia's physical AI technology.
Huang, who has long taken note of Korea's manufacturing prowess, used the visit to deepen alliances with existing partners Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Hyundai Motor Co, while forging newly prominent partnerships with LG Corp, Doosan and Naver. The broader strategy is to secure a more stable supply of HBM and other memory chips from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, then use the resulting AI superchips and autonomous driving and robotics software to supply Hyundai Motor, LG Corp, Naver and game companies — locking them into the Nvidia ecosystem across the full AI value chain.
The moves come as Nvidia — which started more than 30 years ago as a gaming graphics card company — evolves beyond AI semiconductors into a comprehensive AI platform spanning autonomous driving, robotics and data centers. Korea's combination of manufacturing and software strength makes its companies the ideal partners for that transformation, analysts say.
The strategy mirrors how Nvidia's proprietary GPU software platform CUDA created a global lock-in effect by making companies worldwide dependent on its GPUs — and now aims to replicate that dominance in autonomous driving, robotics and AI factories.
At the Korea AI Ecosystem Reception held at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Monday, Huang made the case directly. "Countries that excel in heavy industry and manufacturing tend to be weak in software, and countries that are very strong in software tend to be weak in heavy industry," he said. "Korea excels in every area. It is a uniquely Korean situation."
For Korean companies that expanded their Nvidia partnerships during the visit, the immediate challenge is translating those agreements into concrete action plans.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix view the meetings with Huang as having cemented a stronger working relationship with Nvidia, the world's largest consumer of memory chips. Huang, for his part, appeared focused on securing a stable memory supply from both companies to ease ongoing shortages.
When SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won announced plans to double SK Hynix's memory production capacity by 2030, Huang was candid. "That may not be enough," he said. "AI demand is growing enormously." The remark underscored that securing memory will remain one of Nvidia's most pressing challenges going forward.
Another open question is whether Nvidia — which spent much of the visit selling its chips and software to Korean companies — will in turn commit to investing in Korea itself.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon, who held a one-on-one meeting with Huang on Monday, said he told the CEO directly: "Don't just put on a show in Korea — invest here too." The comment reflects a growing chorus of voices calling on Nvidia to announce concrete investment plans to help develop Korea's AI industry.
One potential site is already drawing attention. During Huang's visit to Hyundai Motor's headquarters in Yangjae on Monday, he mentioned Saemangeum — a large reclaimed land development in North Jeolla Province near Gunsan — as a possible investment location.
Hyundai Motor Chairman Euisun Chung said he briefed Huang on "the Saemangeum project incorporating AI and robotics" and that the two discussed "building a more complete AI, robotics and data center system together, if Nvidia is willing to join."
Huang responded positively, indicating Nvidia would work with Hyundai Motor Group to develop all forms of future AI-powered mobility.
"Korea's AI infrastructure is currently insufficient," Huang said. "Just as you need a car factory to make cars, you need an AI factory for AI. Korea is also building robots, so AI factories are essential. These two areas will be important fields for investment."
Industry watchers say the discussions point toward a possible Nvidia AI data center or robotics research and development facility centered on the Saemangeum zone.
joze@heraldcorp.com
