Inside AI Day Seoul: How Sovereign AI Is Reinforcing Korea’s Digital Backbone

Artificial intelligence has evolved beyond mere demos and catchy headlines. In South Korea, it is swiftly becoming the backbone of government services, industrial innovation, cultural creativity, and the next generation of startups. This shift was evident at AI Day Seoul, where over 1,000 participants gathered to explore, learn, and network about sovereign AI, agentic systems, and physical AI.

This article delves into the key events from Seoul, the significance of this momentum, and how Korea’s public and private sectors are collaborating with NVIDIA to scale AI applications from pilot projects to full production, leveraging more than a quarter-million GPUs in the coming years.

The Big Picture: Korea’s AI Push is Gaining Momentum

South Korea is heavily investing in sovereign AI—an initiative focused on developing indigenous models, datasets, and computational resources aligned with national priorities. This strategy emphasizes building infrastructure and nurturing talent to confidently integrate AI within essential industries and public services. Recent reports highlight Korea’s position as an early benchmark in sovereign AI, combining its exceptional semiconductor expertise with national programs aimed at enhancing computational capabilities.

At AI Day Seoul, the agenda demonstrated this ambition, featuring sessions on agentic AI—systems capable of planning and executing tasks—physical AI involving robotics, and hands-on workshops with NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Institute. The overarching message was clear: act quickly, test in real-world settings, and scale successful initiatives.

Key Moments from AI Day Seoul

• Hands-on Learning: Developers engaged in training sessions on topics like large language models, robotics, and high-performance computing, with experts available for real-world troubleshooting in the “Ask the NVIDIA Tech Experts” area.
• Startup Spotlight: Korean startups in the NVIDIA Inception program pitched their ideas and networked with potential investors, with finalists recognized on stage, highlighting the country’s growing AI entrepreneurial landscape.
• Technical Deep-Dives: NVIDIA speakers shared insights on scaling laws for reasoning models and discussed the increasing convergence between AI factories and physical AI.

Each of these tracks illustrated a common theme: Korea is leveraging AI to enhance productivity across vital sectors, including logistics, manufacturing, public services, and entertainment.

Why This Moment is Different

Two pivotal factors set this moment apart:

1. Scale of Computational Resources: In October 2025, NVIDIA announced, in partnership with the Korean government and major corporations, a plan to enhance the nation’s AI infrastructure with over 260,000 NVIDIA GPUs distributed across sovereign clouds and AI factories. This initiative will involve collaboration with prominent entities such as Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group, and NAVER Cloud.

2. Coordinated Strategic Approach: Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT has convened industry leaders and established working groups to ensure effective deployment of these resources, translating ambitious figures into actionable plans for procurement, data center development, and greater accessibility for developers. Recently, a working group was formed to operationalize the GPU deployment in collaboration with Samsung, Hyundai, SK Telecom, NAVER, and NVIDIA.

The outcome: This scale of computational capacity is set to transform the ecosystem, paving the way for national-scale language models, industrial digital twins, more autonomous systems, and citizen-facing AI that is tailored to local language and policies.

Implementing Sovereign AI: From Government to Gaming

The public sector in Korea has already begun piloting AI applications to streamline document processing, summarize regulations, and enhance citizen request routing. These behind-the-scenes advancements contribute to a modern and responsive government service experience. Concurrently, innovations in consumer-facing applications are proliferating across the realms of gaming, music, and the K-pop industry, where AI-driven avatars, voice synthesis, and content production tools are abbreviating production timelines and customizing user experiences. These trends were prominent discussions at NVIDIA’s AI Day series in Seoul.

Partnerships Positioning Korea’s AI Factories

The infrastructure strategy goes beyond merely increasing GPU counts; it also focuses on synthesizing computational power with software stacks, toolkits, and industry collaborations to enable organizations to launch practical applications. Notable components include:

• Cloud Infrastructure: Korea’s sovereign AI strategy merges national infrastructures with local cloud providers to maintain sensitive workloads domestically while offering developers contemporary tools. The expansion will encompass national centers and clouds managed by providers like NAVER Cloud and NHN, coupled with NVIDIA’s complete technology stack.
• Manufacturing and Mobility: Hyundai Motor Group is collaborating with NVIDIA to establish an AI factory geared towards exploring digital twins, robotics, and autonomous vehicle technology, using NVIDIA’s platforms for training, validation, and deployment.
• Industrial AI and Logistics: Both SK Group and Samsung are upgrading GPU fleets to expedite everything from semiconductor research and development to smart manufacturing. Companies like Coupang are also establishing AI factories utilizing NVIDIA DGX systems to enhance demand forecasting, route optimization, and personalized experiences.
• Korean Language Model Development: Collaborating with NVIDIA, entities such as NAVER Cloud, LG AI Research, SK Telecom, Upstage, and NC AI are working to build Korean foundation models and specialized industry models using NVIDIA’s NeMo and Nemotron technology.

Understanding Agentic and Physical AI

• Agentic AI: Unlike traditional systems that respond in a linear fashion, agentic AI can plan tasks, call tools, and self-correct. NAVER Cloud showcased its use of NVIDIA’s NeMo Agent Toolkit—a practical guide for those looking to deploy functional agents beyond mere conversational abilities.
• Physical AI: This encompasses robotics and cyber-physical systems that integrate perception, simulation, and control mechanisms. Demonstrations in Seoul linked this to AI factories and digital twins, highlighting Korea’s hardware strengths across automotive and consumer electronics sectors.

These approaches collectively propel AI from screens to shop floors, warehouses, vehicles, and healthcare facilities.

Lessons Learned by Participants

Attendees left with two significant insights:

• Expert Access Accelerates Development: The “Ask the NVIDIA Tech Experts” area enabled engineers to connect directly with specialists in infrastructure, large language models, robotics, and automotive, helping to convert roadblocks into actionable next steps.
• End-to-End Thinking is Essential: Participants emphasized the importance of considering complete workflows, from data pipelines to evaluating reasoning tasks and deployment strategies that balance GPU usage, latency, and cost. This underscores the relevance of curated stacks like NVIDIA DGX systems and NeMo tools.

An Expanding Startup Ecosystem

Korea’s AI startup community is gaining traction, supported by initiatives like NVIDIA Inception and increasing investor interest. During AI Day Seoul, finalists in the Inception program received recognition from NVIDIA and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, with founders exchanging insights on scaling their ventures. The key takeaway for startups was to align with national infrastructure and industry partners to expedite time-to-market.

Moreover, Korea’s broader startup ecosystem features new AI chip manufacturers and model companies benefiting from the robust national computational backbone necessary for training large models domestically.

The Implications of 260,000+ GPUs

Deploying this level of computational power isn’t just about creating a larger cluster; it introduces new possibilities:

• Enhanced Public Services: Can agencies effectively address citizen inquiries using accurate, up-to-date models trained on local regulations and documentation?
• Manufacturing Efficiency: Will manufacturers successfully reduce simulation-to-production timelines utilizing digital twins and robotics supported by physical AI?
• Mobility Advancements: Can transportation frameworks continuously update and validate models across fleets with rapid iterations?

NVIDIA and partnering firms have outlined how this capacity will be distributed: tens of thousands of GPUs will provide sovereign cloud resources, industrial AI factories for Samsung, SK, and Hyundai, alongside over 60,000 GPUs at NAVER Cloud—all complemented by NVIDIA’s software solutions like NeMo, Nemotron, and the DGX platform.

On November 27, 2025, Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT, along with leading companies, launched a working group to oversee these initiatives—a crucial follow-up often overlooked after significant announcements.

Sector-by-Sector Insights

• Government Services: High-document workloads such as permit applications and regulatory assessments are prime candidates for acceleration using retrieval-augmented generation techniques and workflow agents.
• Manufacturing and Robotics: Given Korea’s strengths in this domain, initiatives will likely focus on enhancing robot manipulation and quality control through simulation and real-time perception technologies.
• Cloud and Platforms: The development of sovereign clouds is key to providing enterprises compliant access to robust models and toolchains. NAVER Cloud’s partnerships with LG AI Research and SK Telecom signal a collaborative ecosystem approach.
• Retail and Logistics: AI factories constructed on DGX systems are targeting precise metrics like forecast accuracy and delivery efficiency, fundamentally improving customer experiences.
• Culture and Entertainment: Korea’s creative arts, from gaming to music, are early adopters of AI technology, an ongoing trend that will likely broaden as models advance.

Immediate Actions for Teams

If you’re working within Korea’s AI ecosystem, here are several principles reiterated during the event:

1. Treat compute as a valuable product, not just an expense—invest in orchestration and observability.
2. Start with an agentic framework; define which tasks necessitate planning, tool usage, and reasoning assessments.
3. Use simulations to mitigate risks in physical AI applications before full-scale deployment.
4. Localize your efforts thoughtfully, using Korean-language data along with strong governance.
5. Implement thorough evaluation processes, focusing on meaningful metrics that reflect your project’s goals.

What’s Next?

The next focal point is the execution of the GPU initiative. The deployment of the 260,000+ GPU program is transitioning from announcements to actual procurement, site preparations, and developer access. Government agencies, cloud providers, and manufacturing companies have begun formal cooperation to facilitate this rollout. Expect phased implementations over the coming years, with initial capacities benefiting model research, startups, and practical projects in mobility and manufacturing.

Korea’s approach reflects a broader global trend, with countries from Europe to the Middle East investigating sovereign AI strategies. However, Korea’s unique combination of semiconductor innovation, international manufacturing capability, and cultural exports presents a compelling case study worth monitoring.

Event Highlights at a Glance

• Over 1,000 attendees, including developers, researchers, founders, and policymakers.
• Focus tracks on agentic AI, physical AI, sovereign AI, and developer training opportunities.
• Recognition of Inception finalists, supported by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
• Technical sessions led by NVIDIA experts on reasoning models and AI factory insights.
• Resources for hands-on problem-solving in the “Ask the Experts” area.

These highlights created a builder’s atmosphere at AI Day Seoul—an event where participants left equipped with code samples, new contacts, and clear next steps for experimentation.

FAQs

What is sovereign AI and its significance for Korea?

Sovereign AI entails constructing and managing models, datasets, and computational resources in alignment with national priorities and regulations. For Korea, this model enhances public service quality, accelerates industrial innovation, and bolsters creative sectors, while reducing reliance on external resources for critical infrastructure.

How many GPUs will be deployed, and which organizations will receive them?

NVIDIA and its Korean partners plan to deploy over 260,000 GPUs across sovereign clouds, national centers, and corporate AI factories. Public disclosures indicate distributions among government sectors, Samsung, SK, Hyundai, and more than 60,000 allocated to NAVER Cloud.

What did NAVER Cloud, LG AI Research, and Coupang present?

NAVER Cloud showcased its efforts in developing agentic AI through the NeMo Agent Toolkit, LG AI Research discussed optimization techniques using the NeMo framework and FP8, while Coupang explained how an AI factory based on DGX systems enhances forecasting, logistics, and personalization.

What functionalities will these AI factories provide?

AI factories will harness GPU clusters alongside software stacks to continuously train, evaluate, and deploy models into real-world applications. This encompasses areas such as manufacturing digital twins, robotics, mobility solutions, recommendation systems, ad technologies, and more. Hyundai’s collaboration with NVIDIA exemplifies how this integration unfolds in the mobility and advanced manufacturing sectors.

When will developers start to notice the benefits?

Some advantages should materialize immediately as training capabilities and tools expand. The overarching rollout of the 260,000+ GPU deployment will unfold in stages over the next few years. A working group established on November 27, 2025, is coordinating efforts between governmental and industrial partners.

Bottom Line

AI Day Seoul wasn’t just another conference; it served as a progress report and a roadmap. Korea is aligning its policies, infrastructure, and industries around sovereign AI initiatives and backing these efforts with substantial computational resources. For developers, founders, and enterprise leaders engaged with Korea or planning to enter its market, the opportunity is evident: innovate for tangible outcomes, leverage the growing national infrastructure, and collaborate throughout the ecosystem. The next chapter in Korea’s digital evolution will hinge on teams that can transform GPUs into impactful products.