Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will visit Seoul National University (SNU) during his upcoming trip to Korea to meet with researchers and students in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. Given that Nvidia has positioned robots and real-world-based AI as its next growth pillar, attention is also turning to potential collaboration with Korean academia.
According to industry and academic sources Wednesday, Huang is set to arrive in Korea on the evening of the 4th and is coordinating a visit to SNU's AI Institute and Robotics Research Center on the 8th. During the visit, he is expected to review the institutes' key research achievements and demonstrations, and exchange views with relevant faculty members.
Notably, Huang has reportedly expressed a personal wish to interact directly with SNU students, separate from the research facility tour. As the AI race expands beyond technology into a battle for talent, attention is focused on what message the head of the global AI chip company will deliver to Korean students.
An SNU official said regarding the meeting with students, "The format of the meeting is currently being discussed with Nvidia."
Huang's visit to SNU comes about two months after his eldest daughter, Madison Huang, Nvidia's Senior Director and Head of Robotics Marketing, visited the SNU Robotics Research Center in April. At the time, Madison Huang observed the institute's robot demonstrations and met with researchers.
With Huang himself visiting SNU following a key Nvidia executive, observers say collaboration between Nvidia and Korean academia in robotics and physical AI could take more concrete shape. Physical AI refers to technology that enables AI to make decisions and move in real physical environments — such as robots, autonomous driving, and factory automation — beyond digital spaces.
Nvidia has been accelerating the expansion of its physical AI ecosystem, recently unveiling the robot simulation platform "Omniverse," the robot development platform "Isaac," and the humanoid foundation model "GR00T."
Industry watchers say that as Nvidia has strengthened its software capabilities for training robots in virtual environments, securing hardware and control technology partners that can implement and validate this in real-world settings has become increasingly important. Given that SNU's Robotics Research Center has built research capabilities in robot control and intelligent robotics, attention is turning to whether the visit could lead to joint research or talent exchange.
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