• NVIDIA has announced multi-year partnerships with SK Hynix and SK Telecom (SKM), potentially generating hundreds of billions of dollars in business for South Korea.
  • SK Hynix will collaborate on AI-optimized memory, while SK Telecom plans to build a gigawatt-scale AI cloud in Korea, with the first data center coming online around 2027.
  • The deals reinforce South Korea's ambition to become a global AI hardware and cloud services hub.

A Multi-Billion Dollar Bet on Korea

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said that the company's expanding partnership with SK Group affiliates could bring hundreds of billions of dollars in business to South Korea in the future, according to people familiar with the matter. Speaking at an event in Seoul on Thursday, Huang described the collaboration with SK Hynix and SK Telecom as a cornerstone of NVIDIA's strategy to build sovereign AI ecosystems globally.

SK Hynix, a leading memory chipmaker, will co-develop next-generation memory technologies optimized for AI data centers alongside NVIDIA. The partnership is expected to lock in long-term supply agreements for high-bandwidth memory, a critical component for NVIDIA's GPUs. Meanwhile, SK Telecom is planning to construct a gigawatt-scale AI cloud infrastructure in Korea, powered by NVIDIA's latest chips. The first facility is slated to launch around 2027, with potential capacity to serve both domestic and international customers.

“What institutional investors like us are really focused on is regulatory stability,” said Andrea Valeri, Blackstone's country Chairman for Italy, speaking at a separate event. He noted that Italy has improved its perception for foreign investment. While not directly related to the NVIDIA deal, his comments underscore the growing importance of regulatory certainty for large-scale tech investments.

A Competitive Edge in AI Infrastructure

The partnerships are part of a broader push by South Korea to establish itself as a leading AI hub, with government support for sovereign AI and domestic manufacturing. The deals could reshape the competitive landscape for memory suppliers, potentially challenging rivals like Micron, and may draw scrutiny from Korea's competition authorities.

“It’s a great country to invest here because there are a lot of very good companies and the market here is not as competitive as other markets,” said Giampiero Mazza, head of Italy at CVC Capital Partners, in a separate interview. While his comments were about private equity in Italy, they echo a sentiment that could apply to Korea's AI sector: first movers can capture outsized returns.

Attempts to reach NVIDIA for additional comment on the timeline and financial specifics of the partnerships were unsuccessful. SK Group representatives declined to comment beyond their earlier statements.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the expected operational date of the first SK Telecom data center. It is expected around 2027, not 2026.