Naver to build gigawatt-scale AI factories on Nvidia platform as Korea's sovereign AI push accelerates - digitimes

Naver and NVIDIA's announcement marks a significant step in South Korea's push for sovereign AI development, with Naver planning to build gigawatt-scale AI factories using NVIDIA's DSX platform. This ... Read original →

Naver’s gigawatt-scale AI factories on NVIDIA’s DSX platform represent South Korea’s strategic bet on full-stack AI sovereignty, not merely data center scaling. Technically, this will spike demand for HBM3e memory, NVLink interconnects, and liquid cooling—forcing Samsung and SK hynix to accelerate advanced packaging capacity. Compliance-wise, heavy reliance on U.S. AI chips exposes Korean firms to secondary sanctions if Washington tightens export controls on AI hardware, jeopardizing global supply chains. Competitively, LG and Kakao will likely fast-track their own AI clouds, while Seoul may boost domestic startups like Rebellions. Over the next 12–24 months, such state-backed tech alliances will ignite an AI infrastructure arms race across East Asia. Yet over-dependence on NVIDIA’s CUDA ecosystem risks massive stranded assets if open alternatives—such as RISC-V-based AI accelerators—gain traction.