[Exclusive] Contract Deposits Reach Trillions Amid 'Shortage'... Korea's First Introduction of Nvidia 'Blackwell GPU'

Plan to Introduce at Least 2 and Up to 10 Servers Equipped with Blackwell GPU
Limited Quantity Due to Global Shortage
Water Cooling System Required... No Experience in Facility Construction
Future Plans to Establish 'AI Data Center'

GB200 NVL72. It is named this way because it contains 72 GPUs connected via NVLink. NVIDIA website

The latest Nvidia artificial intelligence (AI) graphics processing unit (GPU), Blackwell, which is experiencing a global shortage, will arrive in Korea this year. A senior official from Nvidia Korea stated on the 6th, "We plan to deploy at least 2 and up to 10 servers based on the Blackwell GPU, the ‘GB200 NVL72 (GB200)’, in Korea this year."

At a seminar held by the global commercial real estate services company Cushman & Wakefield Korea at the Finance Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, an executive in charge of technical support at Nvidia Korea said, "There are clients in Korea interested in the GB200, so we consulted Nvidia headquarters," adding, "It seems possible to deploy at least 2 and up to 10 units in Korea this year." He explained, "The GB200 is currently a product that cannot be purchased even if desired," and added, "It is primarily sold to companies like Google, Microsoft, and Meta, with contract amounts in the trillions of won."

Released in December last year, the GB200 is a server rack equipped with 72 Blackwell GPUs. The Blackwell GPU is Nvidia’s AI chip. It offers up to 30 times improved performance compared to the H100 in training large language models (LLM) and is 25 times more energy efficient. It has been adopted by global companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Meta. Although it has not yet been introduced in Korea, many companies are currently expressing their intention to purchase it from Nvidia.

Blackwell is also experiencing a global shortage. When Nvidia’s Chief Financial Officer, Colette Kress, said in an interview with investment bank Morgan Stanley the day before, “It will take some time to meet all the demand for the new Blackwell chips due to supply issues,” Nvidia’s stock price even dropped. The quantity that can enter Korea this year is also expected to be limited.

However, the key issue is whether the GB200, which emits tremendous heat, can be operated continuously and stably. Simply cooling the heat with air cooling is insufficient, and a water cooling system using coolant is also necessary. The executive in charge of technical support explained, "Since the coolant is consumed after a certain period, proper management is required," adding, "If the coolant circulation is not maintained well, the chip itself can burn out." He also said, "Not only has Korea not introduced the GB200 so far, but there is also a significant lack of experience and know-how in building such cooling facilities, so the challenges after introducing the GB200 are even greater."

Meanwhile, Nvidia Korea stated that it aims to build an AI data center bearing the Nvidia name in Korea in the future. They explained that this AI data center can maximize performance in an environment where Nvidia technology is integrated.