The Long-Awaited Surprise Revealed... President Lee Secures 260,000 Nvidia GPUs in Meeting with Jensen Huang [Gyeongju APEC]

Physical AI Collaboration with Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, and Naver
Domestic Academia-Industry-Research Cooperation and AI Talent Development
Lee: "I Hope We Can Build Korea's AI Ecosystem Together"

President Lee Jaemyung met with Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, and secured a promise to supply more than 260,000 of the latest graphics processing units (GPUs). Nvidia plans to collaborate with four major companies-Samsung Electronics, SK, Hyundai Motor, and Naver-to strengthen South Korea's competitiveness in artificial intelligence (AI).

Yonhap News Agency

According to the Office of the President on October 31, President Lee met with CEO Huang at 2:00 p.m. at the Gyeongju Hwabaek Convention Center (HICO) in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, to discuss strategies for innovation across the domestic AI ecosystem. The meeting was also attended by Lee Jaeyong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics; Chey Taewon, Chairman of SK Group; Chung Euisun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group; and Lee Haejin, Chairman of Naver.

The meeting took place on the occasion of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit. In his opening remarks, President Lee stated, "Korea's goal is to become the 'AI capital' of the Asia-Pacific region," adding, "Recently, global companies such as BlackRock and OpenAI have agreed to participate in a project to develop Korea into an AI hub for the Asia-Pacific region." He emphasized, "I hope Nvidia will also join us in building an AI ecosystem where infrastructure, technology, and investment create a virtuous cycle."

Nvidia plans to supply a total of more than 260,000 of the latest GPUs to the Korean government and companies to build the domestic AI infrastructure. In addition to hardware installation, the company will also collaborate on construction and operational technologies. Previously, President Lee had pledged as a presidential candidate to secure at least 50,000 high-performance GPUs.

The company also announced plans to cooperate on physical AI technology with major domestic firms such as Samsung Electronics, SK, Hyundai Motor, and Naver. Earlier, Nvidia had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Science and ICT and Hyundai Motor to enhance Korea's physical AI capabilities. Hyundai Motor and Nvidia will jointly promote the development of physical AI technologies such as AI-based autonomous vehicles and AI-driven manufacturing, as well as the training of specialized talent. With Naver, the partnership will focus on strengthening competitiveness in the mobility industry and physical AI fields, including cloud and AI-based software-defined vehicles (SDVs).

Yonhap News Agency

SK and Samsung Electronics will actively invest in physical AI, including building digital twins to improve production processes using Nvidia's GPUs. The two sides also discussed ways to strengthen partnerships between Korean companies and Nvidia, such as expanding the supply of high-bandwidth memory (HBM).

Nvidia will also promote technological cooperation with domestic academia, industry, and research institutes to develop advanced AI-based technologies. The company will work with research institutions such as the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) to establish a quantum hybrid computing environment for Korea's sixth supercomputer, "Hangang." Samsung Electronics, the three major telecom companies (SK Telecom, KT, LG Uplus), the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), and Yonsei University will collaborate on the development and commercialization of intelligent base station (AI-RAN) technology.

In addition, Nvidia has agreed to cooperate over the long term in nurturing domestic AI talent, including expanding hands-on, field-based training for AI experts and engineers. The company will also continue to support startups through programs such as the "N-UP" initiative, which is being promoted in partnership with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

President Lee said, "If Nvidia is responsible for the speed of AI innovation, Korea is the optimal partner to harness this speed and set the right direction for innovation. The Korean government will spare no effort to ensure that the cooperation measures discussed today become a successful example that makes a tangible contribution not only to Korea but also to the international community."