Jensen Huang Picks Korean AI Startups for Closed-Door Meeting

*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an AI-based customized news recommendation and summary service developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six tailored news items by reader type.

1. Jensen Huang Sends 'Surprise' Invitations to K-Startups

- Key Summary: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang invited domestic AI startups including Nota, Realworld, Upstage, AIM Intelligence, Confeg and Trillion Labs to a closed-door meeting held at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul on the 8th. Robotics startup WIRobotics was also invited, and its humanoid robot 'Alex,' currently under development, will give a live demonstration at the venue. Earlier, CEO Huang held a closed-door 'Korea Partner Night' event at 'GTC Taipei 2026' in Taipei, Taiwan, where he met with executives of domestic startups including Diden Robotics, Lablup, Realworld and Trillion Labs and personally emphasized the importance of the Korean market. Cho Yeo-jun, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of The Ventures, said, "With its China business in a difficult situation, Nvidia views the Korean market as a major hub for the AI ecosystem."

2. Nvidia-Led AI-RAN Assembly to Be Held in Korea in November

- Key Summary: The 2026 annual assembly of the AI-RAN Alliance, the global AI network coalition led by Nvidia, will be held in Seoul for the first time this November. AI-RAN (intelligent base station) is infrastructure that goes beyond existing telecommunications infrastructure to operate like a small AI data center, playing a key role in fast decision-making processing for robots and reducing battery consumption. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced its 'Hyper AI Network Strategy' in December last year, outlining plans to install AI-RAN at more than 500 hubs nationwide by 2030 and capture 20% of the global AI network market. Samsung Electronics (005930) is jointly developing AI-RAN technology with Nvidia, and 'AINA (AI Network Alliance),' which includes Korea's three major mobile carriers and about 20 companies, was launched in March this year to begin building the domestic AI network ecosystem in earnest.

3. Doosan Robotics (454910) to Expand US Hub in September… "Production Capacity to Double"

- Key Summary: Doosan Robotics will complete the expansion of the end-of-line (EOL) automation system at OneXia, the US robotics solutions subsidiary it acquired in September last year, this coming September, doubling production capacity from current levels. OneXia's order backlog in the first quarter of this year reached $13.5 million (about 20.4 billion won), more than triple the $3.9 million at the end of 2024, and the company has secured a site that can expand production capacity by up to fourfold in the future. Doosan Robotics also invested approximately 24 billion won in its US subsidiary in March to build a new collaborative robot plant in Pennsylvania, and tripled its local US marketing personnel from previous levels. According to market research firm Grand View Research, the North American collaborative robot market is forecast to grow at an annual average of 21%, from $600 million last year to $3.1 billion by 2033.

4. 'ChatGPT,' the Generative AI Chosen by Koreans

- Key Summary: According to the '2025 Value-Added Telecommunications Business Survey' released by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the domestic generative AI usage rate reached 78.1%, exceeding 90% among those in their 20s. The most-used generative AI was ChatGPT (68.1%), while Naver (67.5%) ranked first in search, KakaoTalk (92.5%) in messaging, Coupang (53.6%) in e-commerce and Danggeun Market (88.3%) in secondhand trading. The survey was conducted on 2,500 adults nationwide aged 19 to 69, and in the bundling (service combination) survey, 75.9% had experience subscribing to e-commerce memberships and 53.9% had experience subscribing to OTT-telecom memberships. Meanwhile, the frequency of services used daily was highest in the order of messaging (91.3%), search (85.8%) and video sharing (69.5%).

5. US Government Eases AI Model Pre-Release Verification Period from 90 to 30 Days

- Key Summary: US President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a government pre-verification framework for high-performance AI models developed by private companies. The executive order shortens the verification period to 30 days from the original 90 days, with the aim of strengthening US AI dominance and blocking cyber threats to infrastructure and national security systems. Accordingly, related agencies including the Department of the Treasury, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security will establish classified benchmarking processes, and AI developers will check whether their models are subject to verification and then build voluntary cooperation systems with the government. US Big Tech firms including Google, MS and OpenAI have welcomed the finalized revision while keeping a close watch on future repercussions.

6. Goyang International Flower Festival Draws 340,000 Visitors… Boosts Local Economy Through 'Experiential Transition'

- Key Summary: As a result of shifting from a traditional floral exhibition format to stay-and-participate content, the 2026 Goyang International Flower Festival recorded approximately 340,000 paid visitors, achieving the highest performance level since COVID-19. Floral retail sales increased 101% year-on-year, business consultation cases rose 107.1% and total revenue from experiential content surged 68.9%. Experience programs such as 'Pengsoo's Flower Garden' contributed to expanding family visitors and inflows of the MZ generation, and subway ridership during the event period also rose 6.3% from the previous year, leading to revitalization of nearby commercial districts. The Goyang International Exhibition Foundation estimates that the festival generated approximately 128 billion won in economic ripple effects, confirming its potential as a 'Goyang-style fusion model of floral and MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions).'