Nvidia signs multibillion-dollar chip and AI cloud deals with South Korean giants

Nvidia has secured a series of major agreements with some of South Korea’s biggest industrial and technology groups, aiming to ease the global shortage of advanced chips and accelerate the rollout of artificial intelligence infrastructure. The value of the contracts is described as being in the tens of billions of US dollars.

The deals cover next‑generation memory for AI data centers, large-scale cloud computing infrastructure, and cooperation in emerging areas such as robotics, autonomous mobility and ultra‑fast data transmission.

Jensen Huang’s strategic visit to South Korea

Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang traveled to South Korea to deepen ties with the country’s semiconductor and technology leaders. During the visit, he held talks with owners and top managers of the largest industrial conglomerates, which are regarded as having globally unique capabilities in chip manufacturing and advanced electronics.

The discussions focused on securing long-term supplies of critical components for Nvidia’s AI platforms and on joint development of technologies that will power new generations of data centers, robots and intelligent machines.

Long-term memory supply deal with SK Group and SK Hynix

The most significant outcome of the trip is a multi‑year agreement with SK Group. Its subsidiary SK Hynix will work with Nvidia on advanced memory solutions for AI-powered data centers worldwide.

Nvidia has been struggling with persistent shortages of high-performance chips, which slow the deployment of its solutions in robotics, personal computers and supercomputers. High-bandwidth, energy-efficient memory is a critical part of these systems, and SK Hynix has been one of Nvidia’s key suppliers.

According to Huang, SK Hynix has been Nvidia’s most important partner in the memory segment and will remain so. Nvidia already purchases memory products worth billions of dollars annually from the Korean company, and this spending is expected to rise substantially under the new agreement.

AI cloud project with SK Telecom

Another pillar of the cooperation is a large AI cloud initiative with SK Telecom. The telecom operator plans to build, together with Nvidia, a computing cloud described as having a capacity measured in several thousand gigawatts, aimed at serving hundreds of South Korean companies.

The investment is scheduled to start later this year and is intended to provide local businesses with access to powerful AI infrastructure, enabling them to train and run advanced models without building their own large-scale data centers.

Broader cooperation with Korean conglomerates

Beyond SK Group, Nvidia intends to work with a broad group of Korean corporations on various technology projects. Companies mentioned as potential or confirmed partners include Doosan, LG Group, Hyundai Motor and internet company Naver.

These collaborations are expected to span multiple fields, from industrial automation to consumer applications, leveraging Nvidia’s GPUs and AI platforms together with the engineering and manufacturing capabilities of South Korea’s conglomerates.

Focus on robotics, mobility and ultra‑fast data centers

Nvidia’s agreements in South Korea are part of a broader strategy to expand into new technology segments that rely heavily on AI and high-performance computing. The company plans to intensify work in several areas:

• Robotics and humanoid robots – developing platforms and components for advanced robots capable of operating in industrial and service environments.
• Autonomous mobility – supporting self-driving and assisted-driving technologies for vehicles, including potential cooperation with automotive groups such as Hyundai Motor.
• Ultra‑fast data transmission – building infrastructures that can move massive volumes of data between AI accelerators and storage, which is crucial for training and running large models.
• Next-generation data centers – designing facilities optimized for AI workloads, integrating Nvidia’s GPUs with high‑bandwidth memory solutions from suppliers such as SK Hynix.

By strengthening its partnerships in South Korea, Nvidia aims to secure critical components for its hardware, support the rapid growth in demand for AI services and maintain its leading position in the global AI chip market.