NVIDIA's supply of 260,000 units of the latest Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) to the Korean government, Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group, Naver, and other leading domestic companies is accelerating South Korea's transformation into an AI powerhouse. Companies have secured tens of thousands of high-performance GPUs, such as 'Blackwell', which serve as the 'brains' of AI, enabling them to use AI as a driving force for business innovation.

On the 31st, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, NVIDIA and companies announced the details of this strategic alliance. Following the 'chimaek' (chicken + beer) meeting between NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun the previous night, the 'AI Alliance' has been formalized. This AI alliance is expected to strengthen Korea's manufacturing dominance in the AI era, including in the automotive and semiconductor sectors.

● Samsung and SK, Innovating Semiconductor Manufacturing with AI Factories

This AI alliance with NVIDIA is expected to give momentum to the sovereign AI project, which the Korean government is pursuing with the goal of becoming one of the 'AI Big Three' alongside the US and China. In August, the government selected five teams, including Naver, SK Telecom, LG AI Research Institute, NC AI, and Upstage, to develop independent foundation models. The government plans to use 50,000 GPUs supplied by NVIDIA for developing AI foundation models and establishing a national AI computing center.

The competitiveness of the private AI ecosystem is also expected to be upgraded. Samsung Electronics, through strategic cooperation with NVIDIA, will establish an industry-leading 'semiconductor AI factory'. Samsung's AI factory is designed as an intelligent manufacturing platform that collects all data generated in semiconductor clusters in Korea, the US, and China in real-time, allowing it to learn and make decisions autonomously. AI will autonomously analyze and optimize the entire manufacturing process, including design, process, operation, and quality control, predicting defects in advance and controlling processes autonomously.

Along with building the AI factory, Samsung has solidified its cooperative relationship by supplying next-generation memory and foundry services to NVIDIA. Key supply items include the 5th generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) HBM3E, 6th generation HBM4, and graphics DRAM GDDR7. Samsung Electronics stated, "We are closely discussing with NVIDIA not only the memory products already being supplied but also the supply of HBM4, which has significantly improved performance and energy efficiency." NVIDIA also stated that "Samsung Electronics is a key supply partner for HBM3E and HBM4," and expressed optimism about the full-scale supply of HBM4, which is currently in the sample testing stage.

SK Group will establish a 'manufacturing AI cloud' using NVIDIA's GPUs and the manufacturing AI platform 'Omniverse'. This cloud replicates the manufacturing production process in a 3D virtual space, providing yield improvement and cost reduction benefits. SK Group will also build an AI factory using NVIDIA's GPUs.

● Hyundai and Naver Leading Industrial Transformation with Physical AI

Hyundai Motor Group and NVIDIA will promote innovations in autonomous vehicles, smart factories, and robotics through the introduction of Blackwell-based AI factories. The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Science and ICT to enhance domestic physical AI capabilities.

The two companies will invest USD 3 billion (approximately KRW 4.3 trillion) to establish an 'AI Technology Center', 'Physical AI Application Center', and 'Physical AI Data Center'. Hyundai Motor Group will use 50,000 Blackwell units to build an AI factory integrating in-vehicle AI, autonomous driving, production efficiency, and robotics, while also pursuing the development of digital twins (technology that implements physical assets and systems in a virtual space) for vehicle factories.

Naver will jointly develop a physical AI platform with NVIDIA to supply AI infrastructure to key national industries such as semiconductors, shipbuilding, and energy. This involves combining Naver Cloud's digital twin and robotics technology with NVIDIA's 'Omniverse' and 'Isaac Sim' platforms. CEO Huang stated, "We will actively expand practical cooperation with Korean companies in various aspects, including AI infrastructure construction, talent and startup nurturing, and autonomous driving robots in manufacturing physical AI."

Yoon Guk-jin, Deputy Director of the KAIST AI Research Institute, said, "If the supply of GPUs is sufficient, research directions can be broadened in various fields such as semiconductors, AI, and bio, and there will be a lot of technologies that can be attempted."

Meanwhile, on the 31st, the KOSPI closed at 4,107.50, up 0.50% from the previous trading day, surpassing the 4,100 mark for the first time on a closing basis. Companies that announced cooperation with NVIDIA, such as Samsung Electronics (3.27%), Hyundai Motor (9.43%), and Naver (4.70%), boosted their stock prices.

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