Naver and Nvidia Partner on Gigawatt-Scale AI Factory in Korea

South Korean internet giant Naver will partner with Nvidia to construct a gigawatt-scale artificial intelligence factory, beginning with expansion of its hyperscale data center in Sejong, according to Asia Today.

Naver founder and board chairman Lee Hae-jin and CEO Choi Soo-yeon met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at Naver's 1784 headquarters in Seongnam to establish a joint business roadmap. The agreement extends beyond technology sharing to encompass demand development, investment, and infrastructure construction across the entire value chain, with Naver participating as a core partner sharing both business results and risks.

Infrastructure buildout timeline

The project centers on Gak Sejong, Naver's hyperscale data center facility. Naver plans to bring 55 megawatts of infrastructure online in the first half of 2027, expand to 100 megawatts later that year, and reach 200 megawatts in 2028. The ultimate goal is gigawatt-scale AI infrastructure capable of serving demand across South Korea, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

The partnership combines Naver's data center and GPU cluster operation expertise with Nvidia's DSX platform, which integrates chips, servers, software, and data center operating technologies specifically designed for AI factories. The platform aims to reduce AI model training and inference costs while accelerating infrastructure deployment.

Technical cooperation expands

Beyond infrastructure, the companies plan to deepen technical collaboration. Naver has been enhancing its HyperCLOVA X AI model using Nvidia's open large language model Nemotron. The company is also developing a "Seoul world model" by combining Nvidia's Cosmos world foundation model with Naver's street-view and spatial modeling technologies.

Future cooperation is expected to extend into physical AI, robotics, and digital twins. The partnership builds on previous discussions between Lee and Huang during last year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, where they explored cooperation on physical AI platforms.

Why it matters

This partnership signals Naver's strategic shift from internet services company to global AI infrastructure provider. As demand for AI computing capacity intensifies across Asia and beyond, regional data center hubs that can serve multiple markets become increasingly valuable. The collaboration gives Nvidia a major foothold in the Asian AI infrastructure market while providing Naver with the technology platform to compete with hyperscale cloud providers. Huang recently identified Naver Cloud as a key partner in the global AI ecosystem during Nvidia GTC Taipei 2026.

Naver shares jumped 9.20% on Monday following the announcement, closing at 279,000 won (approximately $181), according to the Korea Exchange. Market analysts attributed the gain to investor expectations surrounding the large-scale AI factory project and Naver's global infrastructure expansion plans.

The details were first reported by Asia Today and translated by UPI.