NVIDIA and Korea Deepen Sovereign AI Collaboration Across Ecosystem

NVIDIA and South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) have announced an expanded partnership to advance the nation's sovereign AI ecosystem. The collaboration spans AI semiconductors, data center infrastructure, talent development, startups, foundational models, agents, and security. This initiative aims to bolster Korea's position in the global AI landscape while fostering innovation and technological independence.

Key Areas of Collaboration

The partnership sets the stage for Korean NPU (neural processing unit) and XPU (accelerated processing unit) companies to explore integration into NVIDIA's NVLink Fusion ecosystem. NVLink Fusion is a high-performance interconnect technology designed to enhance AI workloads by enabling seamless data sharing across GPUs and other processors. This integration could provide Korean firms with access to cutting-edge AI infrastructure and tools.

To support this effort, NVIDIA will offer training and certification programs, hackathons, and technical seminars aimed at improving GPU utilization. These initiatives align with Korea's "AI for All" program, which seeks to democratize AI capabilities across industries and institutions.

Focus on Foundation Models and AI Infrastructure

As part of the collaboration, NVIDIA will work with three selected consortia and four leading Korean foundation model builders. These efforts will leverage NVIDIA Dynamo software, a platform designed to optimize and scale AI inference processes. The goal is to enhance the efficiency and scalability of AI models tailored to Korean-specific applications and workloads.

Additionally, NVIDIA announced a partnership with SK Telecom and Rebellions, supported by MSIT, to advance sovereign AI infrastructure. This collaboration will utilize NVIDIA NVLink Fusion to optimize AI models and workloads for Korean use cases, further strengthening the nation's AI capabilities.

Strategic Context and Broader Implications

This announcement builds on prior collaborations between NVIDIA and South Korea. For example, in July 2026, Seoul National University (SNU) and NVIDIA launched a multi-year partnership to establish the NVIDIA AI Technology Center (NVAITC) Joint Lab. This initiative focuses on research, talent development, and AI infrastructure, creating a testbed for sovereign AI advancements.

In June 2026, NVIDIA also partnered with major Korean corporations, including LG Group, SK Group, and Hyundai Motor Group, to expand AI infrastructure and explore applications in agentic and physical AI. NAVER, a leading Korean tech company, is building an NVIDIA-powered AI factory, further demonstrating the country's commitment to AI innovation.

Through these combined efforts, NVIDIA and South Korea aim to position the nation as a leader in AI technology, fostering economic growth and technological sovereignty in an increasingly AI-driven world.