South Korea’s Technological Transformation Led by AI Infrastructure

South Korea is undergoing a significant transformation in its technological infrastructure, spearheaded by major companies such as NVIDIA and Samsung. This transformation involves building a sovereign AI infrastructure based on accelerated computing, impacting various sectors from automotive to telecommunications, thereby enhancing South Korea’s position as a leader in the new industrial revolution of artificial intelligence.

Collaboration Between NVIDIA and the Korean Government

NVIDIA has announced its collaboration with government agencies and private companies in South Korea to build a sovereign AI infrastructure. The plan includes deploying hundreds of thousands of NVIDIA GPUs across sovereign clouds and AI factories in multiple fields such as automotive, manufacturing, and telecommunications.

Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, highlighted that South Korea’s technological and manufacturing leadership places it at the heart of the AI industrial revolution, where accelerated computing infrastructure becomes as crucial as power grids and the internet.

Korean Government’s AI Infrastructure Plans

The Korean government plans to deploy up to 50,000 new processing units from NVIDIA to support sovereign AI programs. The first phase includes deploying 13,000 units of NVIDIA Blackwell and other units through providers like NAVER Cloud, NHN Cloud, and Kakao, while working on building a national smart computing center.

Startups, researchers, and other organizations will be able to use this sovereign infrastructure to train models and develop new applications, enhancing their competitive capabilities on the international stage.

Major Companies and AI Factory Development

Major companies in Korea are making significant investments in advanced AI infrastructure in areas such as chip production, network operations, and digital manufacturing tools to support the country’s sovereign computing goals.

NVIDIA and Samsung plan to build a new AI factory that connects chip manufacturing with accelerated computing. The system will operate on more than 50,000 NVIDIA processing units to support data-driven production methods such as predictive maintenance and process optimization across chip factories.

Expansion of AI Capabilities by SK Group

SK Group is constructing an AI factory that will include more than 50,000 NVIDIA processing units, expected to be completed by late 2027. The facility will offer “GPU-as-a-Service” aligned with South Korea’s sovereign AI strategy.

Additionally, SK Telecom is building an industrial AI cloud using NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition units to support semiconductor manufacturing and digital twin models.

Conclusion

The ongoing transformations in AI infrastructure in South Korea indicate a bright future, where technology plays a pivotal role in reshaping traditional industries and opening new horizons for growth and innovation. With joint efforts between the government and the private sector, South Korea is paving the way towards a new era of smart manufacturing and accelerated computing applications, contributing to its status as a global tech powerhouse.