Nvidia to Invest $1 Billion in Naver and Build 2GW of Korean AI Data Centers
Nvidia will invest $1 billion in South Korea's Naver to more than triple an AI data center, and team with SK Group on over 2 gigawatts of AI factories, as Jensen Huang hails Korea's "golden age."
In Brief
- Nvidia will invest $1 billion in Naver to help finance an AI data center under construction in South Korea, letting the internet and cloud provider more than triple the facility’s size using Nvidia hardware
- Separately, Nvidia is teaming with SK Group to build more than 2 gigawatts of AI data centers on the Korean Peninsula—roughly the energy to power 1.5 million homes—with the first, from SK Telecom, opening next year
- ”This is the golden ages for Korea,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told Bloomberg Television, calling it a country that can “help the world build out the AI infrastructure”
Nvidia will invest $1 billion in Naver to help finance an AI data center under construction in South Korea, adding to a frenzy of deals by the world’s most valuable company, Bloomberg reported. The investment is part of a wave of AI infrastructure commitments landing across the Korean Peninsula.
The funding will allow Naver, an internet and cloud service provider, to more than triple the size of the facility, Nvidia said late Friday. The site — developed jointly with US private equity firm Brookfield — will use Nvidia’s artificial intelligence computing hardware.
Separately, Nvidia is teaming up with SK Group to build more than 2 gigawatts of AI data centers on the Korean Peninsula. That is roughly the amount of energy needed to power 1.5 million homes. The first of these so-called AI factories, built by SK Telecom, will open next year, Nvidia said.
Why the Nvidia Naver investment matters
The Naver stake is more than a financing arrangement — it locks one of Korea’s largest internet companies onto Nvidia’s hardware for a dramatically expanded facility. Tripling the data center’s size scales up the compute Naver can bring to bear on its cloud and AI services, and it deepens Nvidia’s foothold in a strategically important market.
The SK Group tie-up operates at an even larger scale. Building more than 2 gigawatts of AI data centers is an enormous undertaking, and framing the first sites as “AI factories” reflects Nvidia’s push to position AI compute as industrial infrastructure rather than conventional IT. SK Telecom’s first facility opening next year gives the plan a concrete near-term milestone.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang framed the moment in expansive terms. “This is the golden ages for Korea,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “Their semiconductor business is booming. Their industrial business is booming. You know, this is a country that has the ability to help the world build out the AI infrastructure.”
Part of a global deal-making spree
Huang has sought to cultivate the AI industry through a series of big-budget deals, and the Korea announcements fit that pattern. They arrived alongside a cluster of agreements tied to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to Silicon Valley, including Samsung’s more than $200 billion chip-supply pact with Broadcom.
The concentration of deals underscores how South Korea’s technology champions — from chipmakers to internet platforms — are being woven into the global AI supply chain simultaneously. Nvidia’s investments in Naver and SK Group add the data-center layer to that picture, complementing the manufacturing commitments from Samsung and SK Hynix.
For Nvidia, the spending spree extends its influence over where and how the world’s AI capacity gets built. By financing facilities directly and supplying the hardware inside them, the company ensures that a growing share of global AI infrastructure runs on its platform — with Korea now a centerpiece of that strategy.
FAQ
How much is Nvidia investing in Naver?
Nvidia will invest $1 billion in Naver to help finance an AI data center under construction in South Korea. The funding will let Naver more than triple the size of the facility, which is developed jointly with Brookfield and will use Nvidia hardware.
What is Nvidia building with SK Group?
Nvidia is teaming with SK Group to build more than 2 gigawatts of AI data centers on the Korean Peninsula — roughly the energy needed to power 1.5 million homes. The first “AI factory,” built by SK Telecom, will open next year.
What did Jensen Huang say about Korea?
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told Bloomberg Television, “This is the golden ages for Korea,” citing its booming semiconductor and industrial businesses and calling it a country that can help the world build out AI infrastructure.
