Korea will receive priority supply of Nvidia's next-generation high-performance graphics processing unit (GPU), Vera Rubin. The outcome follows a sweeping support pledge from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who highly praised Korea's geopolitical position and strong manufacturing base amid the U.S.-China contest for supremacy.
Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, announced these results after meeting with Huang at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Monday, speaking to reporters following the talks. "Korea has agreed to receive priority supply of Vera Rubin," he said. "We were promised sweeping support to ensure there will be no disruption in GPU supply for building domestic AI infrastructure going forward."
The two sides also agreed to create a physical AI ecosystem involving Korean AI startups. "While Korea may have fallen somewhat behind in the large language model (LLM) field, we conveyed our determination to surge ahead in the global market in the physical AI field based on robotics and manufacturing," Bae said. "Nvidia also decided to actively support the entire ecosystem so that Korea can become a global frontrunner in physical AI."
The plan to host Nvidia's GTC, the world's largest AI developer conference, in Korea was also discussed. "We had very positive discussions about GTC Korea," Bae said. "In terms of creating an AI ecosystem, CEO Huang was thinking very positively about holding GTC in Korea."
"I emphasized that Korea could become the largest buyer of Nvidia GPUs going forward, and proposed joint investment to CEO Jensen Huang," Bae concluded. "Nvidia responded by deciding to join hands with the Korean government and actively participate in joint investment to revitalize the domestic AI ecosystem."
