NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has specifically mentioned the possibility of investment in South Korea's robotics sector, drawing attention to expanded cooperation with domestic industries.

As NVIDIA accelerates the development of its "Physical AI" ecosystem, encompassing robots, autonomous driving, and smart factories, expectations are rising for further enhanced collaboration with South Korean companies such as Samsung Electronics, SK, LG, Hyundai Motor, Naver, and Doosan Robotics.

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang is interviewed by global reporters at the 'Korea Partner Night' dinner event with Korean companies held at a restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan, on the 1st (local time). [Joint Press Corps]  

According to industry sources on the 2nd, CEO Huang stated at a dinner event with domestic companies held at a local restaurant the previous day, "We will always consider investing in Korea," specifically citing robotics as an area for investment.

Huang's remarks are interpreted as a signal that NVIDIA views South Korea as a key hub for Physical AI. As the AI industry expands beyond data centers into areas like robotics and autonomous driving, the role of South Korean companies is expected to grow significantly.

Currently, NVIDIA is pursuing the establishment of a Physical AI ecosystem in partnership with major South Korean companies, covering both semiconductor and robotics platforms.

It is understood that NVIDIA is expanding its collaboration model by integrating the semiconductor and manufacturing capabilities of South Korean companies around its robot simulation platform, "Omniverse."

The industry is particularly focused on collaboration with LG, which is accelerating its robotics business.

LG Electronics [066570] is already developing its own Physical AI models based on NVIDIA's Isaac GR00T (General-purpose Robot Inference Model). The company is also utilizing NVIDIA's robot development platform to conduct on-site demonstrations of intelligent robots.

LG Electronics is expanding its robot business, centered around its home robot "LG CLOiBot," and plans to establish a mass production system for actuators, a key component for robot joints, this year.

In the future, it is anticipated that the scope of collaboration could extend beyond LG Electronics to include affiliates such as LG AI Research (EXAONE), LG Innotek [011070] (robot sensing, semiconductor substrates), and LG Uplus [032640] (cloud).

Doosan Robotics CEO Kim Min-pyo (sixth from left) and NVIDIA Senior Director Madison Huang (fifth from left) take a commemorative photo with officials at the Doosan Robotics Innovation Center in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, on the 29th. [Provided by Doosan Robotics]  

Doosan Robotics is developing an industrial robot platform by leveraging NVIDIA's AI and robotics infrastructure. Based on this, the company plans to launch intelligent robot solutions next year and industrial humanoid robots by 2028.

Hyundai Motor [005380] is also one of NVIDIA's key partners. The two companies are collaborating in the fields of autonomous driving and Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs) and are continuing their collaboration with NVIDIA to enhance Boston Dynamics' humanoid robot "Atlas."

Samsung Electronics [005930] and SK Hynix [000660] are key partners supporting the expansion of NVIDIA's AI infrastructure.

With the spread of Physical AI, the demand for robot learning and inference is increasing, leading to a projected rise in demand for high-performance Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and associated memory, such as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM).

Notably, Samsung Electronics is known to be collaborating with NVIDIA in its foundry business, suggesting that cooperation between the two companies could also extend to robotics chips.

Naver is recognized as a company that has accumulated unique competitiveness in the robotics field among domestic platform companies.

"1784," Naver's second headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, is a robot-friendly building that integrates robot, cloud, 5G, and digital twin technologies. It has served as a testbed where service robots developed by Naver perform tasks such as delivery and guidance within the building.

CEO Huang, who is visiting South Korea this week, is scheduled to visit Naver's headquarters on the 8th, and specific cooperation plans between the two companies are expected to be unveiled on the same day.

CEO Huang stated, "Korea has an excellent ecosystem and its companies are very outstanding. We hope NVIDIA can also contribute to the development of robotics in Korea." He emphasized, "AI and robots will maximize Korea's potential."

Samsung Electronics unveils HBM4E for the first time at GTC... strengthening AI alliance with NVIDIA with 'Total Solution' [Seoul=Yonhap News]