Nvidia Secures Deals with SK Group, Hynix in AI Push

NVIDIA announced deals in South Korea with tech giants SK Hynix and Naver during CEO Jensen Huang’s visit to the country. The agreements aim to secure crucial memory chips for AI ambitions and attract new customers.

Huang dined on local cuisine, met with top corporate bosses, and threw a baseball pitch during his trip. Nvidia and its partners, including SK Telecom and Doosan Group, did not disclose deal values.

SK Hynix signed a multi-year technology partnership to develop advanced memory for global AI data centers, aligning with supply needs as chip makers struggle under demand strain. Huang stated that the agreement would enable supply to match Nvidia’s expanding plans into robotics, personal computers, and AI supercomputers.

Ryu Young-ho, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, noted that the SK Hynix-Nvidia partnership reflects memory chips evolving from commodities to customer-specific products.

SK Telecom committed to building a gigawatt-scale AI cloud in South Korea using Nvidia technology, with the first data center expected online by 2027. Naver and Doosan also plan to use Nvidia’s technology for AI data centers.

NVIDIA is partnering with LG Group on electronics, mechanical systems, and humanoid robots. Huang discussed future data center architecture, including cooling, power delivery, and building designs during a meeting with LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.

South Korea is an Asian manufacturing powerhouse, home to major chip, electronics, car, and ship producers. SK Hynix and Samsung are the world’s largest memory chip makers, key components in data centers. The country’s benchmark Kospi index doubled in six months due to AI but fell nearly 9% on Monday amid robust US jobs data and a potential Federal Reserve rate hike, sparking a tech stock rout.

Huang dismissed concerns about the chip stock downturn, stating that investors should be excited by cheaper stocks as the future of AI is bright. He plans to meet Samsung’s semiconductor leader Jun Young-hyun on Monday and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung later in the day.