Nvidia invests $1B in Naver’s AI cloud
Nvidia plans to invest $1B in Naver as the Korean technology group expands sovereign-AI infrastructure with major project financing.
The AI infrastructure race is no longer limited to US hyperscalers. Nvidia is backing regional cloud platforms that can combine local data, domestic customers and sovereign-computing ambitions.
What happened
Nvidia plans to acquire $1B of newly issued Naver shares, giving it an approximately 4.5% stake in the South Korean cloud and internet company. Brookfield will provide up to $9B in project financing for an expansion of Naver’s GAK data centre in Sejong.
The project is intended to expand the site to 200MW by 2028 using Nvidia’s Blackwell and Vera Rubin platforms. The partners ultimately want to build larger sovereign-AI infrastructure serving Korea and overseas markets.
Why it matters
Nvidia is using equity, hardware and partnerships to create demand beyond its largest US customers. Naver gains capital, computing access and a stronger position in Korea’s domestic AI market, while Brookfield supplies the long-duration financing needed for data-centre construction.
The structure links three layers of the AI stack: chips, cloud services and infrastructure capital.
The bigger picture
Sovereign AI is becoming an investable infrastructure category rather than only a government-policy objective. Regional technology groups can compete by combining local distribution and data with global chip platforms, but the projects still face power, construction and utilisation risks.