NVIDIA & KAIST launch Seoul AI lab amid Korea push
Mon, 27th Jul 2026 (Today)
NVIDIA and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have launched a joint AI research lab in Seoul, the first such lab between a Korean university and a global technology company.
Based at the KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI, the lab will focus on agentic AI for South Korea. The programme will combine NVIDIA's AI models and cloud computing resources with KAIST's researchers, backed by a multiyear commitment to fund and train Korean researchers.
The announcement was part of a broader set of agreements between NVIDIA and South Korean companies and universities as the country steps up investment in AI infrastructure, research and industrial applications. The plans span data centres, memory, robotics, autonomous vehicle systems and university-led research.
NAVER, Brookfield and NVIDIA said they would expand NAVER's AI factory at the GAK Sejong data centre to 200 megawatts. At that scale, NVIDIA said, the site would use roughly 100,000 GPUs based on its Vera Rubin platform, more than tripling the initial buildout announced earlier.
SK Group and NVIDIA also unveiled plans for what they described as a comprehensive partnership worth more than USD $500 billion. The tie-up would establish AI infrastructure to meet rising global demand for compute, using NVIDIA Vera Rubin systems with SK hynix HBM4 memory.
Hyundai Motor Group outlined a physical AI strategy built around a robot reference platform developed with NVIDIA. The carmaker said the initiative extends a buildout that includes 50,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs and will also integrate NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion with Hyundai vehicle platforms.
University push
Beyond the new Seoul lab, NVIDIA and KAIST's Department of Mechanical Engineering said they are planning an NVIDIA AI Technology Centre focused on joint research, talent development and knowledge exchange in physical AI. The work is expected to include projects using NVIDIA Nemotron open models.
Seoul National University is also planning an NVIDIA AI Technology Centre with NVIDIA. The proposed centre would cover AI research, education and talent development across foundation models, accelerated computing, physical AI and AI for science, and could also include cooperation on AI infrastructure.
The university partnerships point to a broader effort by South Korea to deepen domestic AI expertise alongside major infrastructure spending. They also show how foreign technology groups are seeking closer ties with Korean academic institutions as competition for AI research talent grows.
Political backing
The business announcements came alongside meetings in San Francisco involving South Korean President Jae Myung Lee, Jensen Huang and senior corporate leaders from Korea and the United States. According to NVIDIA, the discussions focused on South Korea's ambition to become a key hub in the global AI supply chain, from semiconductor manufacturing to infrastructure deployment and industrial use.
During the meeting with the president, Huang referred to the long relationship between NVIDIA and South Korea.
"From AI chips and physical AI to AI infrastructure, Korea has achieved remarkable results under your leadership over the past year," said Jensen Huang, Chief Executive Officer, NVIDIA. "This is truly the beginning of a golden age for Korea."
Lee offered a brief reply.
"I hope this is only the beginning," said Lee.
Other remarks at the summit underscored how deeply Korean groups are embedded in the AI supply chain. Executives highlighted the country's role in advanced memory, large-scale infrastructure and industrial manufacturing as global demand for AI hardware continues to rise.
Huang also linked Korea's semiconductor sector to the development of AI systems.
"If not for the invention of HBM memory in Korea, NVIDIA wouldn't have been able to invent the supercomputers that power AI today. This really is the golden age for Korea," said Huang.
OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman also pointed to Korea's role in the current market.
"There really would not have been what we have, this incredible AI revolution, without Korea," said Altman.
Anthropic Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei described the country's position across several layers of the sector.
"Throughout the stack, from semiconductors to infrastructure to an incredible concentration of talent," said Amodei.
The scale of the commitments announced with NVIDIA suggests South Korea is trying to secure a larger share of the AI economy by combining its strengths in semiconductors, telecommunications, automotive manufacturing and academic research. The new KAIST lab, the expansion at NAVER's data centre, the SK infrastructure partnership, and Hyundai's robotics and vehicle plans together show a coordinated push to build both research depth and industrial capacity.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won offered a more direct view of demand for hardware during the summit discussion, saying Huang keeps asking for "more chips".