Nvidia has announced plans to deploy more than 250,000 GPUs across South Korea to support cloud and AI infrastructure across the company.

The agreement will see the South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT deploy up to 50,000 of the “latest” Nvidia GPUs across its National AI Computing Center and Korean cloud service providers, while Samsung, SK Group, and Hyundai will also deploy 50,000 GPUs each in planned ‘AI factories.’

The final 60,000 GPUs will be deployed by Naver Cloud to support enterprise and physical AI workloads, and support the company’s development of Korean foundation Large Language Models (LLMs), in partnership with LG AI Research, SK Telecom, NC AI, and Upstage.

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) will also work with Nvidia to establish a Center of Excellence to foster research collaboration using Korea's sixth-generation, Nvidia-powered national supercomputer, HANGANG. KISTI also announced support for the new Nvidia NVQLink open architecture for connecting quantum processors and GPU-based supercomputers.

Three new AI factories coming to South Korea

In a statement, the chipmaker said the government will initially deploy 13,000 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs, alongside an unknown number of additional unspecified Nvidia GPUs, via Naver Cloud in partnership with NHN Cloud and Kakao, to support the establishment of Korea’s National AI Computing Center. The infrastructure will be made available to research institutes, startups, and AI companies to support the building of models and applications.

Samsung’s forthcoming AI factory will support its semiconductor manufacturing operations, combining Samsung’s chip technology with Nvidia’s platforms “to establish the foundation of next-generation, AI-driven production.”

This includes integrating Nvidia’s cuLitho library into Samsung’s advanced lithography platform, OPC, to help boost semiconductor manufacturing performance. Nvidia-powered robotics, digital twin technology, and AI models will also be used to support smart manufacturing efforts across Samsung’s chip fabs.

Similarly, the AI factory announced by SK Group will support semiconductor research, development, and production, in addition to cloud infrastructure that will power the development of digital twin and AI agent technology.

Slated to be one of the largest in the country once brought online – the final phase is expected to be completed late 2027 – and will serve SK subsidiaries, including SK Hynix and SK Telecom, as well as external organizations through a GPU-as-a-service model.

The Nvidia GPU platform set to be deployed by Samsung and SK Group has not been disclosed.

Hyundai, meanwhile, announced that its deployment would comprise Nvidia Blackwell GPUs and would support the establishment of an AI Application Center and AI Technology Center. The company said it would also build a supercomputer to accelerate model training, validation, and deployment for in-vehicle AI, autonomous driving, smart factories, and robotics.

The company will also partner with Nvidia and government stakeholders to support the development of South Korea’s AI ecosystem, which is projected to result in around $3 billion worth of investment in the industry.

Finally, Naver Cloud plans to use its 60,000-strong cluster – comprising Nvidia RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell GPUs and additional Blackwell GPUs – to develop industry-specific AI models like shipbuilding and security, with a focus on inclusive AI for Korea’s citizens.

“Korea’s leadership in technology and manufacturing positions it at the heart of the AI industrial revolution — where accelerated computing infrastructure becomes as vital as power grids and broadband,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia. “Just as Korea’s physical factories have inspired the world with sophisticated ships, cars, chips, and electronics, the nation can now produce intelligence as a new export that will drive global transformation.”

Bae Kyung-hoon, Korea Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Information and Communication Technologies, added: “Now that AI has gone beyond mere innovation and become the foundation of future industries, South Korea stands at the threshold of transformation.

"Expanding our national AI infrastructure and developing technologies with Nvidia is an investment that will further reinforce South Korea’s strengths, including its manufacturing capabilities. This will support South Korea’s prosperity as it strives to become one of the top three global AI powerhouses.”