Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will make high-profile visits to the headquarters of Hyundai Motor Group and LG Group during his trip to Korea. With Huang formalizing Nvidia's strategic investment commitment to Korea's robotics industry, cooperation plans on "physical artificial intelligence (AI)" with major Korean manufacturers are expected to take more concrete shape.
According to industry sources on Nov. 2, Huang will sequentially visit LG Electronics' (066570.KS) Yeouido headquarters, Hyundai Motor's (005380.KS) Yangjae headquarters, and Naver's headquarters on Nov. 8. While his planned meeting with the heads of major Korean conglomerates on Nov. 5 will be an occasion to build rapport, the headquarters visits on Nov. 8 will focus on substantive business partnership discussions. Huang is expected to meet separately with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung, LG Group Chairman Kwang-mo Koo, and Naver Global Investment Officer (GIO) Lee Hae-jin to exchange detailed cooperation plans. Ahead of these meetings, Huang is also scheduled to meet NCsoft CEO Kim Taek-jin at an undisclosed location in Seoul on Nov. 7.
Huang's direct visits to the heart of Korea's leading companies reflect Nvidia's decision to designate Korea as a key hub for building "physical AI," its next-generation ecosystem. At "Korea Partner Night," a dinner event for Korean companies held in Taipei, Taiwan, Huang said, "We will always consider investing in Korea," singling out robotics as a leading area for major investment.
In Korea, Hyundai Motor, LG Electronics, and Doosan Robotics are accelerating their robotics businesses. Nvidia is seen as leveraging cooperation with these manufacturing ecosystems to expand its AI business into robotics and autonomous driving in earnest. Naver, a platform company that has built unrivaled competitiveness in robotics, cloud, 5G, and digital twin technologies, is also being courted as a key Nvidia partner.
NCsoft, which has long maintained a partnership with Nvidia in the gaming sector, has also been making strides in physical AI, raising expectations for technological cooperation between the two companies. NCsoft (036570.KS) has established an AI specialist subsidiary, "NC AI," and is accelerating the development of a robot foundation model.
