US chip giant Nvidia on Monday announced a large-scale data centre project in South Korea with SK Telecom, alongside several other business agreements in the country.
The world’s most valuable company also said it will work with SK hynix to develop advanced memory components used in artificial intelligence systems, which are currently in short supply.
The announcements came after Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang spent the weekend in Seoul meeting tech leaders and appearing on a popular television show, where he was seen engaging informally, including over barbecue meals.
SK Telecom and Nvidia said they plan to build a gigawatt-scale AI cloud in South Korea. The first AI factory under the project is expected to begin operations in 2027, according to a joint statement.
The project will support sovereign, physical and agentic AI services for businesses and industries across South Korea, with plans to expand across wider Asian markets.
The companies did not disclose the investment size for the data centre project.
SK Telecom’s parent company SK Group also includes SK hynix, which on Monday announced a multi-year technology partnership with Nvidia on memory chips.
The companies said the agreement aims to secure supply of advanced memory and address long development cycles, complex manufacturing processes and heavy capital investment required to support global AI factory expansion.
They added that SK hynix will expand into new markets created by Nvidia, including AI infrastructure, personal AI and physical AI, through joint development of memory components for Nvidia hardware.
Global investment in AI infrastructure continues to surge as governments and companies pour hundreds of billions of dollars into the sector. Nvidia’s market value has now crossed $5 trillion, exceeding the GDP of countries such as Japan and India.
The rapid expansion of AI data centres has also triggered a global shortage of memory chips, driving up profits for manufacturers including SK hynix and Samsung Electronics. Samsung’s workers’ union recently agreed with management on bonuses, averting industrial action.
SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won last week said the company plans to double production capacity of silicon wafers used in memory chip manufacturing. He also warned that shortages could continue until 2030, as chip plants take at least three years to build.
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang recently signed a memory chip display at the SK hynix booth at the Computex trade show in Taipei, writing: “Please make more”.
Upon arriving in South Korea on Friday, Huang said he had brought significant business opportunities to the country and hinted at new surprises.
On Monday, Nvidia also announced AI-related partnerships with South Korean tech firm Naver and Doosan Group in robotics.
Nvidia is best known for its graphics processing units (GPUs), originally designed for gaming but now widely used to power artificial intelligence systems, including chatbots, image generators and AI agents.
Last week, the company also unveiled a new high-performance laptop chip for Windows machines, expanding its push into AI-enabled consumer computing.
