The Ministry of Science and ICT has indicated the potential for further collaboration with NVIDIA beyond the acquisition of 260,000 graphics processing units (GPUs).
On June 8, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Baek Kyung-hun stated before a private meeting with NVIDIA at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, "We plan to discuss the establishment of physical AI and AI factory solutions with NVIDIA, and we may explore collaboration options that go beyond the previously announced GPU acquisition plan."
He added, "We are continuously engaging with NVIDIA to foster an AI ecosystem, and the government will work to solidify cooperation plans with domestic companies."
Baek and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang expressed a shared commitment to translating their partnership, established during last year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, into tangible outcomes. They discussed the introduction of NVIDIA's next-generation AI platform, the Vera Rubin-based AI factory, and strategies to expand the physical AI ecosystem in South Korea's industry-academia-research sectors.
Baek noted, "We are also considering the feasibility of building gigawatt-scale AI data centers with NVIDIA, and we will discuss collaboration on AI infrastructure, including power and network systems, not just GPUs."
Additionally, Baek addressed a recent announcement from the Ministry regarding a project worth approximately 2 trillion won aimed at securing, building, and operating advanced GPUs. He mentioned that they are moving forward with plans to import about 7,000 NVIDIA B300 units and approximately 3,000 Vera Rubin-based GPUs, with the goal of starting infrastructure development within this year.
Regarding power supply issues, he emphasized, "After continuous discussions with the Ministry of Climate and Energy, we believe there will be no significant problems in meeting the power demand for AI data centers (AIDC) by 2030."
He added, "If the demand for gigawatt-scale data centers intensifies in the future, we will collaborate with the Ministry of Climate and Energy to review appropriate power supply and pricing systems."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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