South Korea Secures $950 Billion AI Deals With US Tech Giants

President Lee Jae Myung met with the CEOs of Nvidia, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Broadcom in San Francisco to secure massive investments for South Korea's transition into an AI-driven society. The meetings culminated in a series of cooperation projects valued at $950 billion, characterized by the San Francisco AI Declaration, which aims to establish South Korea as an irreplaceable core nation in the global AI semiconductor supply chain.

A primary component of these agreements is a long-term deal for SK Group to supply $750 billion in high-performance semiconductors to global firms. Specifically, Nvidia and SK Hynix will partner on chip and memory design, including the co-development of high-bandwidth memory (HBM). This collaboration includes a plan by SK Telecom to build a 2-gigawatt AI factory in South Korea by 2027 using Nvidia's Vera Rubin chips. Simultaneously, Samsung Electronics signed a $200 billion memorandum of understanding with Broadcom to provide memory and foundry services, utilizing Samsung's 2-nanometer process technology through 2030.

The initiative extends beyond semiconductors into broader AI infrastructure and robotics. Nvidia will collaborate with Hyundai Motor Group on autonomous Genesis vehicles, LG Group on robotics, and Naver to expand AI data centers. To support long-term growth, Nvidia plans to establish an AI Frontier Lab and partner with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology to develop a Korean large-language model. Additionally, Anthropic agreed to a memorandum of understanding with South Korea's science ministry regarding AI security and the cyber industry.