Nvidia has announced new South Korean partnerships with SK Hynix, Naver, SK Telecom, Doosan Group, LG Group, and Hyundai Motor Group. These agreements came during CEO Jensen Huang’s visit to South Korea, where he met with several company leaders.
- Nvidia has announced AI partnerships in South Korea with SK Hynix, Naver, SK Telecom, Doosan, LG, and Hyundai.
- SK Hynix has signed a multi-year memory partnership to support Nvidia’s global AI data center plans.
- South Korea’s Kospi index fell 8.3%, while Samsung and SK Hynix shares fell after a strong rally in the technology sector.
The companies did not disclose the financial value of the deals. Nvidia said the partnerships cover memory chips, AI data centers, robotics, mobility and industrial AI systems.
SK Hynix deepens Nvidia memory partnership
According to SK Group, SK Hynix I fell Multi-year technology partnership with Nvidia. The deal focuses on advanced memory products for global AI data centers. SK Hynix and Nvidia said the agreement will help meet Nvidia’s expansion plans. Nvidia has expanded its business to include robotics, personal computers, and artificial intelligence-powered supercomputers. Memory chip producers have faced increasing demand from AI infrastructure projects.
SK Hynix remains Nvidia’s largest memory partner, Huang said. “SK Hynix has been Nvidia’s largest memory partner,” Huang said after meeting with SK Group Chairman Chi Tae-won. He added that SK Hynix will continue to play this role. Huang also said that Nvidia already buys billions of dollars’ worth of products from the company every year. These purchases will grow significantly, he said.
Huang said SK Hynix’s plan to double the capacity of memory chips by 2030 will not meet the demand for artificial intelligence. He added that the agreement will last for more than two years, with options for extension. SK Hynix competes with Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology in memory chips. Ryu Young-ho, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said the deal showed that memory chips are becoming more personalized for customers. The partnership came about as well Artificial intelligence data centers Need more high-bandwidth memory.
Nvidia adds AI data center partners
SK Telecom said it will build a gigawatt-sized AI cloud in South Korea using Nvidia technology. The company expects its first AI data center to be operational under the plan in 2027. Nvidia said Naver and Doosan will also use its technology for AI data centers. Doosan develops robots and manufactures the materials used in them Blackwell chips from Nvidia. The company expects its power solution to support Nvidia’s data center platforms.
Nvidia is also working with LG Group on electronics, mechanical systems and AI humanoid robots. Huang said the two companies discussed future data center architecture with LG Chairman Ko Kwang-mo. The work includes cooling, power delivery and data center design. After meeting with Hyundai Motor Group CEO Euisun Chung, Huang said that Nvidia will deepen cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence. Areas include autonomous mobility, robotics, and AI-powered manufacturing.
Huang also referred to Hyundai’s planned AI data center in Saimanjim as “AI Valley.” He said he was “very happy with Nvidia building on Saemangeum.” South Korea’s Ministry of Technology said separately that it plans to secure 9,704 graphics processing units for a government artificial intelligence project. The value of the 2026 project is 2.08 trillion won. The planned 2016 order includes an Nvidia Vera Rubin GPU.
South Korean chip stocks fall after rally
South Korea It remains a major manufacturing base for chips, electronics, cars and ships. SK Hynix and Samsung are the two largest memory chip manufacturers in the world. The country’s Kospi index doubled in six months before Monday’s decline. Demand for artificial intelligence has supported gains in several major South Korean technology stocks. However, global technology stocks fell after strong US jobs data raised interest rate hike expectations.
The KOSPI closed down 8.3% on Monday. Samsung shares fell 10.2%, while SK Hynix shares fell 7.7%. Huang dismissed the concerns when asked about the chip stock sell-off. “Everyone should be very excited,” Huang said. He added that people can now buy shares at a cheaper price.
Jeon Young-hyun, co-CEO of Samsung Electronics, also met with Hwang during the visit. John said they discussed collaborating on the next generation of foundry chips. He said the talks covered self-driving chips, HBM5 memory, and Groq’s AI LP30 chips. Samsung said these Groq chips are scheduled to ship in the second half of this year. The discussions added another chip-related item to Hwang’s agenda in South Korea.
