NVIDIA has announced a large-scale collaboration with the South Korean government and several local technology giants to provide over 260,000 GPUs to accelerate the country’s artificial intelligence ambitions. The partnership is part of South Korea’s broader strategy to establish itself as a major global AI hub by building sovereign AI infrastructure and next-generation “AI factories.”
According to reports, the GPUs will be part of NVIDIA’s latest Blackwell series, designed for enterprise-scale AI computing and high-efficiency model training. These chips will power data centers and AI clusters that will support a range of industries — from manufacturing and robotics to autonomous vehicles and healthcare.
South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT has partnered with leading corporations, including Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom, Naver, and Kakao, to implement the national AI infrastructure initiative. The collaboration with NVIDIA will help these companies expand their computing capacity while supporting the government’s goal of boosting domestic AI competitiveness.
Experts note that this partnership could mark one of the largest AI hardware investments in Asia outside of China. It aligns with South Korea’s national plan to create sovereign AI capabilities — systems and data infrastructures that operate independently of foreign cloud providers. By integrating NVIDIA’s GPU technology, the nation aims to reduce dependence on imported AI systems and strengthen local innovation ecosystems.
The initiative will focus on building advanced data centers that can process vast amounts of information for training generative AI and large language models (LLMs). NVIDIA’s Blackwell GPUs are designed to handle complex workloads, offering greater energy efficiency and faster training times compared to earlier architectures. This will enable South Korean developers and startups to build AI models optimized for local languages, industries, and applications.
NVIDIA’s CEO Jensen Huang has repeatedly emphasized the company’s vision for “AI factories” — data centers capable of manufacturing intelligence through continuous model training. South Korea’s adoption of this model could help establish regional AI autonomy while boosting economic growth and innovation.
The partnership also reflects NVIDIA’s growing footprint in Asia’s AI ecosystem. Earlier this year, the company announced similar initiatives in Japan and Singapore, helping both nations scale national AI capabilities. For South Korea, the addition of 260,000 GPUs represents a significant step toward its target of becoming one of the world’s top AI economies by 2030.
Analysts believe this move will bolster not only South Korea’s AI development but also its semiconductor and data infrastructure sectors. The synergy between domestic players like Samsung and NVIDIA could lead to new innovations in chip design and cloud infrastructure management.
The Korean government’s approach also includes fostering AI education and talent development, ensuring that the workforce can meet the rising demand for AI engineers, data scientists, and machine learning experts. With NVIDIA’s support, South Korea plans to create a collaborative environment where research institutions, tech startups, and large enterprises can co-develop AI technologies tailored for both domestic and global markets.
Industry observers view this as a milestone in global AI geopolitics. While the United States continues to lead in AI research, Asia’s technology-driven economies are investing heavily in hardware and infrastructure to assert independence in the AI supply chain. South Korea’s deal with NVIDIA is not just a commercial transaction but a strategic step toward national AI sovereignty.
NVIDIA’s Blackwell chips, combined with the country’s strong semiconductor base and research capabilities, are expected to give South Korea a competitive edge in AI innovation. As AI becomes central to global economic growth, this collaboration underscores how strategic technology partnerships can shape the balance of power in the emerging digital economy.