Naver is set to leverage France as a foothold to penetrate the European artificial intelligence (AI) market. The company plans to establish an 'AI Factory' that combines France's stable energy and industrial base with Naver's AI infrastructure and service capabilities, aiming to provide resources for European companies and startups while expanding collaboration into industry-specific AI and content sectors.
During a business roundtable held on September 8, Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon and Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yoo-won met with key representatives from major French media, information technology, and energy companies to discuss cooperation in AI infrastructure, industry-specific AI, and content.
At the roundtable, Choi emphasized collaboration between the two countries in three key areas: global AI infrastructure, industry-specific AI with data sovereignty and security, and cultural content.
In particular, Choi proposed the establishment of an 'AI Factory' targeting the European market based in France. She highlighted Naver's recent announcement, in partnership with NVIDIA and Brookfield, to build a global AI factory with over 1GW capacity, stating, "We want to create an AI factory that European companies and startups can utilize by combining France's stable energy base with Naver's AI ecosystem experience."
In the area of industry-specific AI, Naver plans to expand its domestic experience to Europe. The company has developed the financial-specific AI 'BOKI' in collaboration with the Bank of Korea and established the nuclear power-specific AI 'Hy-NuRI' with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, integrating industry-specific data and expertise into practical applications.
Choi outlined a collaborative direction to support French companies and institutions in building optimized AI while ensuring data sovereignty and security. This strategy aims to secure 'sovereign AI' capabilities tailored to the needs of local companies and institutions amid the European Union's tightening AI and data regulations.
Naver also seeks to expand its collaboration in the content sector with France. Choi participated as a speaker at the Lumière Summit, an international film and video conference held in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, where she introduced the $100 million global content fund 'IP Adaptation Fund' established by Naver and Webtoon Entertainment.
Additionally, Naver is pursuing collaboration that combines France's audiovisual cultural heritage with its AI technology. During the presidential visit to France, Naver signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the French National Audiovisual Institute (INA) to utilize AI technology and audiovisual cultural heritage archives.
The two parties plan to explore ways to efficiently analyze and organize content by integrating Naver's AI technology with INA's extensive audiovisual archives, enabling users to easily search and utilize the materials they need.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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