NVIDIA and South Korea Forge Alliance for AI Sovereignty at APEC Summit

South Korea’s Sovereign AI Infrastructure Development

During the APEC CEO Summit, NVIDIA announced its collaboration with public agencies and private companies in South Korea to establish sovereign AI infrastructure. This initiative involves the deployment of hundreds of thousands of NVIDIA GPUs across sovereign clouds and AI factories catering to sectors like automotive, manufacturing, and telecommunications.

Jensen Huang, the founder and CEO of NVIDIA, emphasized Korea’s technological prowess and manufacturing leadership in the AI industrial revolution. He highlighted the significance of accelerated computing infrastructure in parallel with traditional utilities like power grids and broadband.

Bae Kyung-hoon, Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Information and Communication Technologies, acknowledged the pivotal role of AI in propelling future industries, positioning South Korea on the brink of a transformative phase.

Government Support for Sovereign AI Programs

The South Korean government is set to roll out up to 50,000 new NVIDIA GPUs to bolster sovereign AI initiatives for businesses and research entities. The initial phase includes the deployment of 13,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs through providers such as NAVER Cloud, NHN Cloud, and Kakao, with plans for establishing a National AI Computing Center. This infrastructure will enable startups, researchers, and organizations to leverage sovereign resources for model training and application development.

Furthermore, NVIDIA is collaborating with key industry players like Samsung, SK Telecom, ETRI, KT, LGU+, and Yonsei University on AI-RAN and 6G network exploration. The focus is on offloading computing tasks from devices to network base stations to enhance battery efficiency and reduce computing costs across sovereign AI services.

Establishment of Sovereign AI Factories by Major Companies

Major corporations in South Korea are investing in advanced AI infrastructure to support chip production, network operations, and digital manufacturing tools aligned with the country’s sovereign computing objectives.

NVIDIA and Samsung are collaborating on a new AI factory that integrates chip manufacturing with accelerated computing, incorporating over 50,000 NVIDIA GPUs to facilitate data-driven production methods and process enhancements within chip fabs.

Samsung intends to leverage NVIDIA CUDA-X libraries and software from Synopsys, Cadence, and Siemens to expedite circuit design and manufacturing workflows. The adoption of NVIDIA Omniverse will enable the creation of digital twins for real-time simulation, testing, and logistics planning, further promoting sovereign AI adoption.

Additionally, Samsung is integrating NVIDIA’s cuLitho library into its computational lithography tools, resulting in performance enhancements for accelerated chip production scaling.

Expansion of AI Capacity by SK Group

SK Group is in the process of constructing an AI factory with over 50,000 NVIDIA GPUs, expected to be operational by late 2027. This facility will provide GPU-as-a-service offerings to SK subsidiaries and external clients, aligning with South Korea’s sovereign AI strategy. Collaboratively, NVIDIA and SK are developing next-generation high-bandwidth memory for GPUs.

SK Telecom is gearing up to establish an industrial AI cloud utilizing NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs to support semiconductor manufacturing, digital twins, and internal AI agents.

SK hynix is exploring NVIDIA PhysicsNeMo tools for chip design simulations to enhance accuracy and speed. The company is also experimenting with NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs in conjunction with Synopsys software and building autonomous fab digital twins.

To empower its workforce, SKT is developing the A.X. foundation model using NVIDIA NIM microservices and NVIDIA AI Enterprise, aimed at assisting thousands of employees across chip development and operations.

Hyundai Motor Group’s AI Initiatives

NVIDIA and Hyundai Motor Group are expanding their collaboration to bolster autonomous driving, factory automation, and robotics. Hyundai’s plan includes the construction of an AI factory utilizing NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs for integrated training, simulation, and deployment.

Jensen Huang emphasized the transformative impact of AI across various industries, particularly in transportation, where NVIDIA’s AI and computing platforms are revolutionizing mobility.

The joint investment by NVIDIA and Hyundai amounts to approximately $3 billion to enhance national physical AI capabilities, including the establishment of an NVIDIA AI Technology Center, Hyundai’s Physical AI Application Center, and new data centers. These initiatives aim to cultivate a new generation of AI talent.

Hyundai will leverage NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise to develop digital twins for factories, supporting virtual testing, robot integration, and predictive maintenance. Additionally, the implementation of NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor in in-vehicle AI systems will enhance driver assistance and infotainment features.

Advancements in Sovereign AI Models

NAVER Cloud is set to deploy over 60,000 GPUs for sovereign and physical AI applications, with a focus on developing industry-specific models for sectors like shipbuilding and public safety.

The Ministry of Science and ICT leads the Sovereign AI Foundation Models project, leveraging NVIDIA NeMo and open Nemotron datasets in collaboration with LG AI Research, NC AI, SK Telecom, and Upstage. These models will support language and reasoning tasks.

LG is collaborating with NVIDIA on physical AI research and offering support to startups and researchers utilizing its EXAONE models, particularly in healthcare applications.

Exploration of Quantum and Scientific Research

KISTI plans to integrate NVIDIA accelerated computing into its sixth national supercomputer, HANGANG, supporting NVQLink for connecting quantum processors with GPU clusters. The institute aims to develop scientific foundation models and explore physics-informed AI tools using NVIDIA PhysicsNeMo.

Furthermore, NVIDIA and local partners are establishing a startup alliance through the NVIDIA Inception program, providing access to accelerated computing resources from cloud partners like SK Telecom. The collaboration also extends to the N-Up AI startup incubation program initiated by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

(Photo by Nvidia)

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