Nvidia has signed a series of landmark deals with South Korea’s biggest technology firms, including Samsung, LG, and Hyundai, as the US chipmaker accelerates its global expansion in artificial intelligence (AI).
Under the agreements, more than 260,000 of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips will be supplied to South Korea’s government and major corporations. The technology will be deployed across factories producing everything from semiconductors and electric vehicles to robotics and autonomous cars.
Speaking at an economic summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Gyeongju, Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang said the move would allow South Korea to “produce intelligence as a new export”.
Although Huang did not reveal the financial details of the contracts, analysts believe the value could reach billions of dollars, marking one of Nvidia’s largest-ever overseas AI infrastructure commitments.
Expanding AI power across Asia
Huang described the deals as part of Nvidia’s broader strategy to expand AI infrastructure worldwide, allowing companies to create “digital twins” — virtual replicas of their manufacturing operations — to boost efficiency and innovation.
The announcement follows a milestone week for the chip giant, which on Wednesday became the world’s first $5 trillion company, driven by surging investor enthusiasm for AI technology.
South Korea’s government said it plans to use more than 50,000 Nvidia chips to build computing centres for the country’s growing AI sector, including at the National AI Computing Center and corporate facilities run by tech firms Kakao and Naver.
President Lee Jae Myung has pledged to make South Korea a leading regional hub for AI development, prioritising investment in computing power and digital infrastructure amid ongoing US trade tensions.
Trade politics and US-China tensions
Nvidia’s expansion in Asia comes as it faces challenges in China, where US export restrictions have barred sales of its most advanced AI chips. Huang said Nvidia’s market share in China had plummeted from 95% to zero, though he expressed optimism that relations could improve.
Following a meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, the former US president said he would support new talks between Beijing and Nvidia about resuming chip sales, calling the US government a “referee” in the process.
Huang said he hoped future policy changes would allow Nvidia’s advanced Blackwell chips to be sold in China again, adding: “It’s in the best interest of both nations for American technology to remain a global standard.”
Meanwhile, TSMC, Samsung, and SK Hynix remain key manufacturing partners in Nvidia’s supply chain, producing and assembling the company’s cutting-edge processors across Asia.
Strategic shift amid growing competition
The South Korean deal underscores Nvidia’s efforts to strengthen ties across the Asia-Pacific region, ensuring stable production amid global semiconductor competition.
Industry experts say US restrictions on chip exports to China have spurred innovation among Chinese companies such as Huawei and Alibaba, which have unveiled their own AI processors to compete with Nvidia’s technology.
Despite this, Huang said he “deeply respects the capabilities of China” and hopes for “constructive cooperation” in the future.
Nvidia’s shares climbed further this week, buoyed by optimism over its latest partnerships with Uber, Nokia, Stellantis, and the US Department of Energy, which investors see as proof that the AI boom continues to fuel record-breaking growth.
