Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, resigned amid an affair controversy involving a woman accused of being a Chinese spy, raising concerns about the ongoing projects of domestic companies collaborating with Nvidia in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector.
In South Korea's IT industry, attention is focused on Naver, which has attracted significant investment from Nvidia, and Kakao Mobility, which recently signed an autonomous driving technology agreement. Both companies assert that they will continue their existing projects as planned despite the leadership change at Nvidia.
On November 13, Nvidia's board announced Huang's resignation and appointed Colette Kress, the CFO, as interim CEO. Huang stepped down from the board on the same day.
Nvidia stated that it will proceed with its major business operations, including existing customer contracts, GPU supply, and next-generation product development, as planned despite the management changes.
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and led the company for 33 years, transforming it from a GPU manufacturer into the world's largest AI semiconductor company. He played a crucial role in developing AI semiconductor technology and spearheading large-scale investments and strategic collaborations with global firms.
Given that key decision-making authority was concentrated in Huang, the industry is closely monitoring potential changes in Nvidia's global business strategy and its partnerships with domestic companies.
Naver and Kakao Mobility, which have been expanding their collaboration with Nvidia in the AI sector, are particularly noteworthy.
Naver has established a capital and technology partnership with Nvidia, securing a significant equity investment and jointly pursuing a global AI factory project.
In June, Naver collaborated with Nvidia and global asset management firm Brookfield to build a gigawatt-scale AI factory. Last month, it signed a contract with Brookfield for computing infrastructure worth up to $9 billion and completed a capital increase investment of approximately 1.34 trillion won from Nvidia on November 6. Nvidia has become a major shareholder, acquiring 4.13% of Naver's shares.
Naver plans to operate the AI factory based on Brookfield's infrastructure investment and Nvidia's GPU supply. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) funded by Brookfield will secure infrastructure such as GPUs and data centers, while Naver Cloud will provide AI computing services to external clients. The AI factory is set to begin operations in the first half of next year with a capacity of 55 megawatts (MW), expanding to 200 MW by 2028.
Naver is also negotiating to secure Nvidia's next-generation GPU, 'Hopper,' and place large server orders. The industry is keen to see how additional collaborations with Nvidia will unfold to support the expansion of the AI factory project.
However, Naver believes that the recent management changes will not have a direct impact on its established investment and business structure. A Naver representative stated, "We have already finalized major investment procedures and business structures, and Jensen Huang's resignation is a personal matter that will not affect our ongoing collaborative projects."
Kakao Mobility recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Nvidia to enhance Level 4 autonomous driving technology.
On November 9, Kakao Mobility and Nvidia agreed to combine Kakao Mobility's self-developed autonomous driving AI technology with Nvidia's automotive computing platform and safety technologies to develop an autonomous driving system.
Initially, Madison Huang, a senior director at Nvidia and Jensen Huang's daughter, was scheduled to visit South Korea to attend the signing ceremony, but her trip was canceled due to the controversy surrounding her father.
Despite this, the MOU between the two companies was signed as planned. They aim to apply Nvidia's automotive AI computing platform, 'Drive AGX Orin,' along with sensor and computing technologies, to Kia's purpose-built vehicles (PBVs) to commercialize Level 4 autonomous driving services.
Kakao Mobility maintains that there will be no disruptions to its technological collaboration and business initiatives. A Kakao Mobility representative stated, "Technical cooperation will proceed normally regardless of the management changes."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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