[Digital Today reporter Dae-geon Seok] Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (젠슨 황) on June 5, his first day in South Korea, unveiled plans to launch 4 new businesses and outlined a plan to set up an artificial intelligence (AI) technology centre in Seoul. With Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) set to be used in the next-generation AI accelerator "Vera Rubin", expectations are rising that South Korea's memory industry will benefit.

Huang met reporters outside a pork belly restaurant near Hongdae Entrance in Seoul's Mapo district that evening. "I brought 4 new Nvidia businesses as a big gift to Korea," he said. "They are very big new businesses, and Korea will get really busy."

The 4 businesses he cited were the next-generation AI accelerator Vera Rubin, the Vera central processing unit (CPU), Nvidia's first AI laptop lineup "RTX Spark", and the edge supercomputer "Jetson Thor" for humanoid robots and physical AI.

"Unlike this year when we focused on a single product, next year will be very busy with 4 new products pouring out," Huang said. "I hope you prepare to welcome an exciting new year." He had earlier said on arrival at Gimpo Airport that a surprise gift for South Korea was ready and that he brought a lot of business for the country.

He also said plans to set up a South Korea AI technology centre were being made more concrete. "We are building a research centre in Korea for AI research engineers and robotics research," Huang said. "We are hiring AI research engineers and roboticists in Korea." He added that South Korea is an optimal place for R&D investment because it has strong expertise in AI and robotics and is a global manufacturing hub. "Once we have enough people, we will also secure a site," he said, adding that while he was not sure about the location, it seemed to be Seoul.

Nvidia posted openings on its recruitment website for doctoral-level researchers under an AI technology centre, with Seoul as the work location. It is hiring separately for roles supporting foundation model development and for physical AI, listing requirements that include a doctorate in a relevant field and at least 5 years of end-to-end AI model experience. The hires will work with researchers at South Korean universities and companies to advise on foundation model development. Nvidia's AI technology centres are top-tier R&D hubs operated in only three or four locations including Singapore and Taiwan.

◆ Meeting with top executives over pork belly and soju; separate meeting with Chung Eui-sun on June 8

The dinner was attended by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (최태원), LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo (구광모), and Naver Chairman Lee Hae-jin (이해진), who had soju and beer with pork belly. Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, who had been expected to attend, did not come due to a separate schedule, and is set to meet Huang separately on June 8 at Hyundai Motor Group headquarters.

"All of us, including SK Hynix, Samsung, LG, Hyundai Motor and Naver, our businesses are explosive," Huang said. "I am very happy because Korean stock prices are very high and Korea's economy is running well." Nvidia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in October last year with Hyundai Motor Group and the government to supply 50,000 GPUs and to establish an AI technology centre.

Huang arrived via Gimpo Airport on a private plane at around 1 p.m. earlier in the day. For his first stop in South Korea, he visited a PC cafe operated near Hongdae Entrance Station by e-sports team T1, met player Lee Sang-hyeok (이상혁), known as "Faker", and introduced RTX Spark. "Gaming is Nvidia's starting point," he said. "Korea is the birthplace of e-sports, and Korea's gaming industry has made GeForce what it is today."