South Korean, global tech firms unveil $950 billion AI cooperation plans

South Korean conglomerates and global technology companies, including Nvidia, have agreed to pursue a series of artificial intelligence and semiconductor cooperation projects with a combined value of approximately $950 billion, a senior South Korean presidential official said.

The agreements were reached during a high-level meeting in San Francisco attended by executives from major global technology companies and South Korea's leading business groups, including Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman also participated, Yonhap reports.

Speaking at a press briefing, presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Yong-beom said the largest project involves a long-term agreement under which SK Group will supply $750 billion worth of high-performance semiconductors to global technology firms, including Nvidia.

Kim also said South Korean companies and their international partners agreed to jointly invest in large-scale AI data centres with a combined capacity of 5 gigawatts and 2 million graphics processing units (GPUs).

Separately, South Korean internet company Naver plans to establish global AI factories worth $10 billion through a strategic investment agreement with Nvidia and an infrastructure supply deal with Canadian investment management firm Brookfield Corp.

The agreements were announced alongside the signing of the "San Francisco AI Declaration." Speaking at the event, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said the country aims to become a key manufacturing hub and a reliable partner in the global artificial intelligence supply chain.

Nvidia (NVIDIA Corporation) is an American technology company and one of the world’s leading developers of graphics processing units (GPUs), systems-on-a-chip (SoCs), and software. Its technologies are used in the video game industry, professional visualisation, high-performance computing (including artificial intelligence), the automotive industry, and other fields. 

By Sabina Mammadli