Nvidia expands AI ties with Hyundai, Samsung, SK, Naver

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is visiting South Korea for the first time in 15 years to unveil new plans and deepen cooperation with Korean tech companies — including Hyundai Motor, Samsung, SK, and Naver. During this week APEC Summit 2025Nvidia and the South Korean government have announced an expanded partnership to boost the country’s AI infrastructure and Physical AI power

The announcement came just a few days later After the US signed technology agreements with Japan and South KoreaAims to deepen strategic ties and increase cooperation in emerging technologies including AI, semiconductors, quantum computing, biotech, and 6G.

South Korea will secure more than 260,000 of Nvidia’s latest GPUs to meet growing AI demand, the South Korean government announced Friday. Around 50,000 GPUs will support public initiatives, including Development of Domestic AI Foundation Model and a national AI data center. The remaining 200,000 GPUs will go to companies such as Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor Group and Naver, which will drive AI-based manufacturing innovation and develop industry-specific AI models.

Nvidia, Samsung team up on AI Factory and AI-RAN for 6G

Samsung Plans have also been announced Building an AI Mega-Factory in partnership with Nvidia brings AI to every stage of its manufacturing for semiconductors, mobile devices and robotics. Using more than 50,000 Nvidia GPUs and the Omniverse platform, the facility will form an intelligent network capable of analyzing, predicting and optimizing production in real time.

Samsung and Nvidia, partners for more than 25 years, are now collaborating on HBM4, a next-generation memory designed to power future AI applications.

Nvidia will work with Samsung, three Korean telecom operators – SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus — and from ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute). Co-development AI-RANAccording to Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT.

AI-RAN combines mobile base stations with AI to boost performance and reduce battery consumption, and under a new agreement, Nvidia and South Korean industry and research institutions will jointly develop next-generation AI-RAN and a global testbed, the Korean government said.

Nvidia said in mid-October Samsung Foundry EnviLink will help build custom CPUs and XPUs by working with Intel to connect x86 CPUs directly to the Nvidia platform through Fusion.

Hyundai drives future mobility with AI factory

Meanwhile, Hyundai and Nvidia are joining forces to build AI infrastructure and advance technology in physical AI. The partnership plans to focus on autonomous mobility, smart factories and robotics, while collaborating on the supply and investment of high-performance GPUs.

According to NvidiaThe companies will use 50,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs for integrated AI model training, validation and deployment, and will establish an AI research center in South Korea to strengthen the country’s physical AI industry.

“AI is revolutionizing every aspect of every industry, and not just in transportation—from vehicle design and manufacturing to robotics and autonomous driving—Nvidia’s AI and computing platforms are changing how the world moves,” Huang said. “Together with Hyundai Motor Group – Korea’s industrial powerhouse and one of the world’s top mobility solutions providers – we are building intelligent cars and factories that will shape the future of the multi-trillion dollar mobility industry.”

SK builds AI Cloud; Naver partners in physical AI

SK Group, parent of SK Hynix, is partnering with Nvidia to build Asia’s first enterprise-led manufacturing AI cloud, leveraging Nvidia’s simulation and digital twin platforms and opening access to governments, public institutions and domestic startups.

Naver Cloud, the cloud arm of Korean search engine Naver, is collaborating with Nvidia to develop next-generation “Physical AI” The platform that connects the physical and digital worlds. According to Never, the cloud company intends to deploy AI infrastructure in key industries including semiconductors, shipbuilding, energy and biotechnology, aiming to accelerate the adoption of AI solutions optimized for real-world industrial environments.

“As the automotive industry transitions to SDV, the era of ‘physical AI’, where AI works directly within real industrial sites and systems, is unfolding,” Naver founder Hae-jin Lee said in Naver’s statement.

Nvidia’s collaborations with big Korean tech giants — from Samsung’s AI network initiative to Hyundai’s software-defined vehicles, SK Group’s industrial AI applications, and Naver’s cloud and AI services — highlight a broader trend, the convergence of AI and hardware across industries. These partnerships show how global technology leaders are joining forces to shape the next generation of intelligent systems

Earlier this week, US tech giant Eli Lilly announced a wave of new partnerships with companies including Palantir, Hyundai, Samsung, Uber and Job Aviation, along with the US Department of Energy, as CEO Jensen Huang sought to ease concerns about an AI bubble. As the news sent its stock soaring Nvidia became the first publicly traded company to surpass $5 trillion in market capitalization.