SEOUL - Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang is expected to hold a series of meetings with South Korea's top executives across a range of industries in a highly anticipated visit, underscoring the U.S. chip giant's efforts to deepen partnerships across the broader artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem beyond semiconductors and advance its vision for physical AI.
Huang, the head of the world's most valuable company and a central figure in the global AI boom, is expected to arrive in Seoul later Friday and receive the kind of attention typically reserved for celebrities.
Jensen Huang (C), CEO of U.S. chip giant Nvidia Corp., speaks to reporters at a restaurant in Taipei on June 1, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
His visit to South Korea, the first in seven months, is drawing keen interest from investors and industry leaders amid expectations of expanded AI collaboration beyond semiconductors into robotics, smart factories and AI platforms.
One of the most anticipated events is a casual dinner gathering with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Naver Chairman Lee Hae-jin. The major tech companies cover nearly every layer of the AI value chain, from semiconductors and data centers to AI models, software and robotics.
On Sunday, Huang is scheduled to throw the ceremonial first pitch to Doosan Group Chairman Park Jeong-won, who will serve as the ceremonial batter, at a Doosan Bears home game in Seoul. The appearance is also expected to provide an opportunity for discussions on potential AI collaboration, as Doosan Robotics is building industrial robot platforms using Nvidia's AI and robotics infrastructure.
During his four-day stay, Huang is also set to hold talks with executives from the gaming industry, AI and robotics startups, university researchers and students, according to industry sources.
The breadth of Huang's meetings reflects a growing reality: Nvidia increasingly views South Korea not merely as a supplier of memory chips, but as a strategic partner across the broader AI ecosystem.
The visit comes as Nvidia looks beyond the current AI boom driven by large language models and cloud computing toward what Huang has repeatedly described as the next frontier: physical AI. It refers to AI systems capable of interacting with the real world through robots, autonomous machines and intelligent factories.
South Korea is one of the few countries well positioned to play a leading role in that transition.
The Asian powerhouse has strengths in semiconductors, automotive manufacturing, industrial robotics, consumer electronics and advanced manufacturing, making it an attractive partner for Nvidia's vision of AI-powered factories and autonomous systems.
At the core of the relationship are semiconductors.
Huang's schedule includes meetings with Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., the world's leading producers of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a critical component in Nvidia's AI accelerators.
SK hynix is currently Nvidia's largest HBM supplier, while Samsung is seeking to expand its role in the company's AI supply chain as demand for AI infrastructure continues to surge.
But South Korea's importance to Nvidia extends well beyond chips.
During Huang's October visit, the government and major Korean companies have unveiled plans to expand AI infrastructure, including efforts to secure more than 260,000 AI accelerators as part of the country's push to become a global AI powerhouse.
The initiative is expected to create new opportunities in AI data centers, cloud computing and AI platforms.
Naver has emerged as a key player in sovereign AI development, while SK Group is investing heavily in AI data centers and the energy infrastructure needed to support large-scale computing.
Nvidia's push into physical AI has brought South Korea's robotics and smart factories into sharper focus.
Hyundai Motor Group, which owns Boston Dynamics, the developer of the Atlas humanoid robot, is widely regarded as a potential collaborator for Nvidia in developing next-generation humanoid robots and smart factories.
During Huang's last visit, Hyundai and Nvidia agreed to invest US$3 billion to establish an Nvidia AI Technology Center and a Hyundai Motor Group physical AI application center in Korea.
LG Electronics is also expanding investments in robotics, AI devices and intelligent manufacturing systems, areas that align closely with Nvidia's Omniverse and Isaac platforms.
Expectations for Nvidia's expanding engagement with South Korea's broader AI ecosystem have fueled investor optimism ahead of Huang's visit.
Shares of several South Korean technology firms whose leaders are expected to meet with Huang have gained in recent sessions, fueled by expectations that deeper cooperation with Nvidia could position them to benefit from the next wave of AI-driven growth.
"Jensen Huang's visit to South Korea should not be seen as a series of one-off meetings with individual companies. Rather, it is an opportunity to gauge what role South Korea could play in Nvidia's global AI infrastructure expansion strategy," said Hwang Soo-wook, an analyst at Meritz Securities.
