[Gyeongju APEC] Jensen Huang: "Korea, With Strengths in Software, AI, and Manufacturing, Will Become an AI Sovereign Nation"

Jensen Huang, Nvidia CEO, Delivers Special Address
"We Will Build an AI Ecosystem in Korea... Korea Will Become an AI Frontier"

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, stated that South Korea, with its foundational strengths in software and AI technology, as well as manufacturing, will grow into a nation with AI sovereignty in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).

On the afternoon of October 31, at the special session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit held at Gyeongju Arts Center in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk, CEO Huang remarked, "There are very few countries in the world that possess all three essential qualities as we enter the era of AI platform transformation."

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, is delivering the keynote speech at the special session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit held at Gyeongju Arts Center, Gyeongbuk, on October 31, 2025. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

He explained, "Software is an indispensable technology, and Korea has expertise in this area," adding, "Korea also possesses both AI technology and manufacturing capabilities."

CEO Huang emphasized, "We will collaborate with the government, academia, and startups to build an AI ecosystem in Korea," and added, "Korea will become a nation with AI sovereignty and an AI frontier."

He also mentioned Nvidia’s partnerships with domestic companies announced that day. CEO Huang said, "We made an excellent announcement. We have many friends in Korea," and continued, "This week, we decided to deploy 260,000 new GPUs in Korea. Korea will become one of the largest GPU infrastructure countries in the world."

Nvidia announced on this day that it will work with the Korean government to supply more than 260,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) to major companies. Specifically, Samsung, SK Group, and Hyundai Motor Group will each introduce up to 50,000 GPUs, while Naver Cloud will introduce 60,000 GPUs to be used for AI model training and AI data centers.

He also said that physical AI, such as robots, will present new opportunities. CEO Huang stressed, "The future of AI is where entire factories are run by robots, robots operate alongside humans, and robots manipulate other robots to produce goods," adding, "This will have a massive impact and create significant opportunities for Korea."

Regarding the impact of AI on industry, he noted, "With the advent of the AI era, we are moving beyond the time when people wrote code themselves to an era where computers learn on their own," and diagnosed, "The layers of the computer industry, which have remained unchanged for over 60 years, are now being transformed." He further predicted, "Software technology, which was merely a human tool, has evolved into AI that performs work. While the traditional IT industry was worth trillions of dollars, the AI industry will reach hundreds of trillions of dollars."

He also stated that a virtuous cycle will be established, in which the growth of industries accelerates through the construction of AI infrastructure. CEO Huang explained, "Unlike software, AI requires factories, and a tremendous number of AI factories will be built around the world," adding, "A virtuous cycle has formed in which AI becomes profitable, leading to the creation of more factories and the generation of more tokens."

Meanwhile, regarding the so-called 'Kkanbu meeting' held the previous day at Kkanbu Chicken in Samseong-dong with Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, he laughed and said, "I had a drink and fried chicken with my friends," adding, "I think chimaek is the best way to enjoy Korea."