The government has begun reviewing the impact of the abrupt resignation of Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang on domestic graphics processing unit (GPU) supply and the AI industry.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National AI Strategy Committee held separate emergency review meetings on Friday morning and afternoon to discuss the impact on the domestic AI industry and supply chain from Nvidia's management change, the two bodies said.

Nvidia on Wednesday announced Huang's resignation and named Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO. With the company's founder stepping down suddenly, attention has turned to domestic GPU rollout schedules and whether existing cooperation projects will continue.

Ministry of Science and ICT, National AI Strategy Committee hold emergency meetings to review impact on AI infrastructure and cooperation projects

The science ministry held an emergency review meeting on Friday morning chaired by Second Vice Minister Ryu Je-myung (류제명), with officials including Nvidia Korea representatives attending. The meeting was to check the possibility of disruptions to GPU procurement and cooperation the government is pursuing with Nvidia. The government and major domestic companies previously announced plans to bring in more than 260,000 GPUs through cooperation with Nvidia.

Because these cooperation items were pursued at the company level rather than by Huang personally, they are expected to proceed without disruption. The science ministry is also checking the supply chain and procurement schedule through not only Nvidia but also GPU server manufacturers and private cloud service providers (CSPs).

The National AI Strategy Committee also held an emergency review meeting on Friday afternoon to discuss the impact of Nvidia's management change on the domestic AI industry as a whole.

The committee focused its review on the stability of domestic GPU supply and acquisition plans, the sustainability of existing cooperation projects between Korean companies and Nvidia, changes in the global AI semiconductor supply chain and technology development environment, and joint public-private response measures.

It particularly reviewed the impact on domestic AI data centre construction, GPU supply schedules, technical support, and future investment and cooperation plans. It also discussed the impact on manufacturing AI and physical AI cooperation projects being pursued by domestic companies and Nvidia, as well as on the government's three mega projects.

Committee explores use of homegrown NPUs and supply-chain diversification, strengthens joint public-private response

The committee is reviewing measures to ease dependence on a specific company while ensuring stable implementation of existing cooperation projects. It is examining the feasibility of using various AI computing resources such as GPUs and neural processing units (NPUs), and seeking policy responses to strengthen the technological competitiveness of domestic AI semiconductor companies and secure a stable supply chain.

Shin Jin-woo (신진우), chair of the committee's technology innovation and infrastructure subcommittee, stressed that "cooperation with Nvidia should continue unchanged, but we must raise the utilisation rate of secured GPUs and our operational capabilities, and broaden computing resource options, including homegrown AI semiconductors."

The committee will also strengthen information sharing and a joint response system among relevant ministries including the science ministry and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, as well as domestic semiconductor, AI infrastructure and service companies. It will identify the status of major cooperation projects and difficulties, and, if needed, prepare support measures through consultation and coordination among relevant ministries.

Ha Jung-woo (하정우), standing vice chair of the committee, said, "We will strengthen the competitiveness of our AI industry by linking strategies to expand domestic AI infrastructure and foster the physical AI ecosystem so that uncertainty stemming from this change can be used as a new opportunity."