Naver and NVIDIA announced a joint plan to construct a gigawatt-scale AI data center facility.
Naver and Nvidia announced a partnership to build a gigawatt-scale artificial intelligence factory, beginning with operations at Naver's hyperscale data center in Sejong. Naver founder and board Chairman Lee Hae-jin and Chief Executive Choi Soo-yeon met Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang at Naver's 1784 headquarters in Seongnam, south of Seoul, to discuss a joint business roadmap and global expansion strategy. During his visit, Huang told employees, "I love Naver," and participated in a Naver Webtoon event where he wrote, "Don't worry! I have GPUs!" in a blank space on a display.
The companies agreed to pursue a joint project covering demand development, investment, and infrastructure construction across the value chain, with Naver participating as a core partner sharing business results and risks. Naver plans to begin operating 55 megawatts of infrastructure at Gak Sejong in the first half of 2027, expand to 100 megawatts later that year, and reach 200 megawatts in 2028, with the ultimate goal of building gigawatt-scale AI infrastructure. The facility will serve AI demand not only in South Korea but also in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
The cooperation centers on combining Naver's data-center and GPU cluster operation capabilities with Nvidia's DSX platform, which integrates chips, servers, software, and data-center operating technologies for AI factories. Naver plans to use this technology to expand AI infrastructure services for companies, governments, and industrial clients. The companies are also broadening technical cooperation: Naver has been improving its HyperCLOVA X AI model using Nvidia's open large language model Nemotron and is developing a "Seoul world model" by combining Nvidia's Cosmos world foundation model with Naver's street-view and spatial modeling technologies.
The partnership builds on an existing relationship—Lee and Huang met the previous year during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju to discuss cooperation on physical AI platforms. The cooperation is expected to expand into physical AI, robotics, and digital twins. Naver is seeking to move beyond its role as an internet services company and become a global AI infrastructure provider, while Huang recently introduced Naver Cloud as a key partner in the global AI ecosystem during Nvidia GTC Taipei 2026.
Naver shares rose following the announcement, closing at 279,000 won (approximately $181), up 9.20% from the previous trading session according to the Korea Exchange. Market analysts attributed the gain to investor expectations for the large-scale AI factory project and Naver's global AI infrastructure expansion.