Science ministry says big tech deals to boost AI hub ambitions

The science ministry said expanded strategic investment cooperation with major technology firms is driving the launch of three mega-projects to establish South Korea as a global artificial intelligence hub.

The government aims to combine the country's semiconductor and AI infrastructure capabilities with global big tech capital to create new markets and build a cooperative network, positioning the nation as a key player in the irreplaceable global AI supply chain.

Key outcomes from the San Francisco AI Summit include semiconductor supply and production cooperation valued at $950 billion and collaborative efforts to build AI data centers with a capacity of 5 gigawatts.

Samsung Electronics and Broadcom signed a five-year memorandum of understanding for advanced memory supply and foundry services worth $200 billion. Separately, SK Group agreed to a five-year supply deal with Nvidia and other firms totaling $750 billion.

Domestic companies and global partners will also invest in AI data centers totaling 5 gigawatts, equivalent to approximately 2 million GPUs based on the B200 standard. Naver announced plans to construct a global AI factory valued at $10 billion, backed by a $1 billion investment from Nvidia and up to $9 billion from Brookfield.

"This schedule was prepared to generate investment and cooperation results across the entire AI stack by combining South Korea's capabilities in semiconductors, AI infrastructure, models and physical AI with the technology and capital of global big tech," said Kim Yong-beom, policy director at the presidential office.