On July 24, in San Francisco, President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, and Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom, to discuss expanding investment and collaboration in South Korea's artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem and the "Three Major Projects for National Leap."
Huang announced that the business partnership between SK Group and NVIDIA is expected to reach $500 billion. He also revealed plans for extensive collaboration with South Korean companies, including semiconductor partnerships with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, significant investments in Naver, and cooperation with Hyundai Motor Group in autonomous driving and robotics.
President Yoon met with Altman, Huang, and Tan sequentially at a hotel in San Francisco, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho and Kim Yong-beom, head of the Presidential Policy Office.
During his meeting with Altman, President Yoon recalled their brief encounter in Évian, France, and welcomed him back, stating, "It is great to meet again in such an important setting. I appreciate your interest in South Korea's industrial transformation centered on AI, and our citizens are excited about your investment decisions." He added, "Thanks to you, I am also using ChatGPT diligently."
Altman expressed his gratitude to the South Korean people and government, stating, "Given the efforts the South Korean government is making in the AI sector, Korea is one of the most important countries in the world." He added, "I hope other leaders will follow the leadership and investment shown by the President. It is crucial for many people to have access to high-quality AI, and Korea is playing a leading role in creating AI programs, including the three major projects."
President Yoon emphasized that the three major projects represent a significant national decision and requested Altman to participate more actively in this process.
In his meeting with Huang, specific investment and collaboration plans were disclosed. Huang stated, "SK Group and NVIDIA will announce a business partnership, with a scale of $500 billion."
He explained that SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, and NVIDIA are working on partnerships related to chip design and memory design, and that a large-scale investment in Naver, a leading cloud company in Korea, is planned to support expansion in Korea and globally.
Collaboration with Hyundai Motor Group will focus on developing autonomous Genesis vehicles and robotics. Huang also mentioned plans to jointly develop systems for factories and homes with LG.
Huang outlined plans for research and development investments in Korea, stating, "We will start an AI Frontier Lab in Korea, with NVIDIA's leading AI researchers relocating from California to collaborate with KAIST to build 'Korea AI.'" He also proposed developing a large language model (LLM) tailored for Korea.
He emphasized, "We are building various partnerships from large corporations to startups and research organizations, aligning with the President's vision of an 'AI Native Nation' that encompasses AI chip development, physical AI, and AI infrastructure."
Huang shared his recent experience visiting Seoul, saying, "The energy I felt in Korea, from fried chicken to pork belly, was truly amazing. The Korean people really love AI, and we achieved many results and remarkable announcements with various partners."
He remarked, "Under the President's leadership, Korea has accomplished a lot in the past year. It is not an exaggeration to say that this is truly Korea's golden age."
President Yoon expressed gratitude for the smooth GPU supply promised by Huang during last year's APEC summit, stating, "Thanks to the smooth supply of GPUs, we are rapidly adapting even when unprepared. After a year of preparation, we are launching the three major projects and preparing for a new society and nation centered on AI."
He affirmed, "South Korea is determined to become the leading country in AI and its realization. While most people still think AI is confined to labs or programs, a time is coming when it will emerge and impact people's daily lives."
He added, "We are at the beginning of the golden age of AI, and I hope NVIDIA and CEO Huang will play a central role in South Korea's entry into this era."
The two leaders shared a friendly atmosphere, with Huang welcoming President Yoon to California, to which Yoon responded, "You should have seen me in Seoul; the leather jacket suits you well."
President Yoon also mentioned, "I have seen scenes of people enjoying chicken and beer in Seoul on broadcasts, and I wanted to join in."
In his meeting with Tan, President Yoon stated, "South Korea is making significant investments in AI and preparing for a completely new level of collaboration with companies. I ask Broadcom to play a significant role in fostering the Korean AI ecosystem."
He emphasized, "Creating an AI industry ecosystem requires an enormous national effort in scale and content, and collaboration between companies is on a different level than in the past. I urge Broadcom to contribute to making South Korea the world's leading AI nation."
Tan expressed through an interpreter his commitment to contributing to Korea's sovereign AI development with Broadcom's technology. He explained that they are collaborating with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to develop the latest high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and solutions that combine Broadcom's AI chips with HBM.
Tan noted, "It is impressive that even within a large corporate-centered industrial structure, small and medium-sized enterprises and startups in Korea are striving to create new technologies. We will provide customized semiconductors suitable for developing Korean AI models and LLMs, separate from general-purpose GPUs, to support Korea's sovereign AI implementation."
OpenAI was represented by Oliver Jay, Global Business Head, and Ivy Laushindwolf, Head of Multilateral Cooperation and Strategic Operations. NVIDIA was represented by Madison Huang, Senior Director of Physical AI Platform Marketing, Raj Mirpoury, Vice President of Global AI Cloud and Infrastructure Ecosystem, and Milen Mangaldinda, Corporate Communications Vice President. Broadcom was represented by Kwon Young-woo, Senior Vice President and General Manager.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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