Nvidia, Naver and Brookfield Plan $10 Billion Korean AI Expansion
Naver plans to expand its Sejong AI data-center deployment to 200 megawatts by 2028 with a proposed $1 billion Nvidia investment and up to $9 billion in Brookfield financing.
Why it matters: The project connects sovereign-AI policy, data-center financing and Nvidia hardware demand while expanding regional compute capacity outside the major U.S. clouds.
Naver, Nvidia and Brookfield are planning a major expansion of South Korea's sovereign artificial-intelligence infrastructure, with proposed funding of up to $10 billion.
The companies intend to expand Naver's AI data-center deployment at its GAK Sejong facility from 55 megawatts to 200 megawatts by 2028. The infrastructure will use Nvidia's DSX platform, including Vera Rubin and Blackwell systems, and will provide production-scale computing capacity to developers and enterprises in South Korea and the United States.
Nvidia plans to invest $1 billion through the purchase of approximately 7.2 million newly issued Naver shares. Reuters reported that the transaction would give Nvidia a 4.5% stake, making it one of Naver's largest shareholders. Naver shares rose more than 10% following the announcement.
Brookfield has entered a nonbinding arrangement to provide up to $9 billion as the project's capital partner. Nvidia's investment is tied to the broader financing plan, so the full $10 billion should be treated as proposed rather than committed capital.
Naver ultimately plans to scale its AI infrastructure toward one gigawatt. The project shows Nvidia moving beyond sales to U.S. hyperscalers by investing directly in regional cloud and sovereign-AI platforms that can expand demand for its chips, networking systems and software.
The central execution risks are finalizing Brookfield's financing, building sufficient power and data-center capacity, and keeping the 200-megawatt expansion on schedule through 2028.