Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited South Korea from June 5 to 7 to advance the company's AI chip ecosystem and industry partnerships [1, 2, 3].
The trip signals Nvidia's effort to secure its hardware supply chain and integrate AI into automotive and gaming sectors amid rising competition from Taiwan and China [1, 2, 3].
Huang began his visit on June 5 at an internet café near Hongik University [3]. During the stop, he met with esports figures to discuss the region's influence on gaming. "Korea is the birthplace of esports and an optimal market," Huang said [3].
The CEO also held five separate sessions focused on the Korean AI supply chain [2]. These meetings included discussions with semiconductor giant SK Hynix regarding the development of next-generation HBM4 memory [2].
In the automotive sector, Huang met with representatives from Hyundai to discuss the integration of AI into vehicles. A Hyundai representative said, "We are excited to collaborate on autonomous-driving AI and next-generation HBM4 memory" [2].
This visit was Huang's first trip to Korea in about seven months, following his attendance at the APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju in October 2025 [1]. Beyond hardware and cars, Huang engaged with gaming firms, including Krafton and NCSoft, to explore the intersection of AI and interactive entertainment [1, 2].
An Nvidia spokesperson said, "This visit marks a key step in building a physical AI supply chain in Korea" [2].
“"Korea is the birthplace of esports and an optimal market."”
Nvidia's strategic focus on South Korea highlights the critical dependency of global AI scaling on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and specialized hardware. By deepening ties with SK Hynix and Hyundai, Nvidia is not only securing the components necessary for its GPUs but is also attempting to embed its AI architecture into the physical infrastructure of autonomous transport and high-end gaming.
