Nvidia inks major AI partnerships with Samsung, Hyundai, SK Hynix

Nvidia Corp on Friday announced it will supply graphic processing units for the construction of three separate artificial intelligence factories in South Korea, in partnerships with SK Hynix Inc, Samsung Electronics Co and Hyundai Motor Co Ltd.

Nvidia, a Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker, said SK Group is building an Nvidia AI factory with more than 50,000 Nvidia graphics processing units, or GPUs.

The first phase is planned for completion by late 2027, with the system expected to be one of Korea's largest AI factories, Nvidia added.

Separately, Nvidia announced a new AI factory with Samsung, which will be powered by over 50,000 Nvidia GPUs.

"Samsung's semiconductor AI factory will be a centerpiece of the company’s digital transformation, integrating accelerated computing directly into full-fledged advanced chip manufacturing," Nvidia said.

Nvidia also announced a partnership with Hyundai Motor Co Ltd and the South Korean government to develop Korea's physical AI industry by establishing an AI application centre and an AI technology centre.

The partnership includes a new Nvidia Blackwell-powered AI factory, using 50,000 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs.

"In addition, in support of the Korean government’s initiative to build a national physical AI cluster, Hyundai Motor Group and Nvidia will work closely with government stakeholders to accelerate ecosystem development. This will result in an approximately USD3 billion investment to advance the physical AI landscape in Korea," Nvidia said.

Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said the company will supply 260,000 of its most cutting-edge chips to South Korea, as he met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

Nvidia shares were up 0.9% in pre-market trading at USD204.55 each on Friday in New York. SK Hynix shares were 1.6% lower at KRW559,000 in Seoul, while Samsung shares rose 3.3% to KRW107,500. Hyundai Motor shares jumped 9.4% to KRW290,000.