NVIDIA and Hyundai Motor Group are in the final stages of negotiations to establish an artificial intelligence research center in South Korea, which would rank among NVIDIA's premier global AI research facilities.
This center is expected to further solidify NVIDIA's dominant position in the global AI chip market while accelerating Hyundai Motor's technological advancements in robotics and autonomous driving.
Finalizing Location and Timeline
Discussions are reportedly focused on finalizing the site and timeline for the project.
The Saemangeum economic zone on South Korea's west coast, known for its abundant renewable energy resources, is the leading candidate for the location.
Hyundai Motor has already committed to investing approximately $590 million in the area to build an innovation hub for AI, robotics, and hydrogen energy.
Expanding on a Strategic Partnership
This collaboration builds upon a memorandum of understanding signed by the two companies back in October 2025.
The planned center will focus on next-generation AI, physical AI, and robotics, combining NVIDIA's AI technology with Hyundai Motor's manufacturing expertise and global production network.
Key Executive Meetings Scheduled
Market attention is centered on NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's upcoming visit to Seoul this Friday.
Huang is scheduled to meet with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung to finalize the agreement.
His itinerary also includes meetings with other prominent South Korean business leaders, including SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, and Naver founder Lee Hae-jin.
Commitment to South Korean Robotics
During the Computex 2026 event, Jensen Huang emphasized the importance of robotics technology to South Korea, stating his desire to contribute to its advancement in the field.
He also indicated that NVIDIA is considering additional investments in the country, citing its strong technology ecosystem and innovative companies.
Broadening NVIDIA's Strategic Focus
Analysts note this partnership will expand NVIDIA's business reach from chips into the realm of physical AI, which involves AI applications in robotics, self-driving vehicles, and industrial automation.
Hyundai Motor is actively growing its robotics business through its subsidiary Boston Dynamics, while NVIDIA's Isaac platform provides a simulation environment for training such robots.
LG Electronics is also advancing its collaboration with NVIDIA, working to integrate its CLOi humanoid robots with the NVIDIA Isaac robotics platform.
Progress in Autonomous Driving Collaboration
In the autonomous driving sector, the partnership between Hyundai Motor and NVIDIA is already moving forward.
At the GTC conference in March, Jensen Huang announced that Hyundai had joined the NVIDIA RoboTaxi Ready platform, which includes other major global automakers such as BYD, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota, representing a combined annual production capacity of 18 million vehicles.
Hyundai plans to use the NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion platform to build a scalable autonomous driving architecture from Level 2 to Level 4.
Proximity to Key Memory Chip Suppliers
For NVIDIA, establishing a research center in South Korea would bring it closer to two of its major memory chip suppliers: Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
Samsung began mass production of its sixth-generation HBM4 memory in February and has reportedly sent early samples of the next-generation HBM4E memory to NVIDIA.
Industry analysts estimate that SK Hynix supplies approximately 60% to 70% of NVIDIA's HBM memory, with Samsung supplying around 25% to 30%.
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