Nvidia of the United States will establish artificial intelligence (AI) joint research centers on the campuses of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Seoul National University. Analysts see the move as a strategy to expand its influence over Korea's AI ecosystem and to secure top engineering talent ahead of rivals.
KAIST and Nvidia announced on the 24th that they will invest 300 million dollars (about 420 billion won) to establish the "Nvidia-KAIST AI Joint Research Center" at the Seoul campus of the Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI. The two sides agreed to jointly develop next-generation core AI technologies, including agentic AI models and AI agent systems specialized for the Korean language and domestic industries. KAIST researchers will be provided with Nvidia's full-stack AI technology, Nvidia's open AI model Nemotron, and the latest AI computing infrastructure based on Nvidia's cloud.
Seoul National University also decided to establish a joint research center (joint lab) with Nvidia. The two sides plan to select 10 to 20 research teams in advanced fields such as physical AI and AI semiconductors to pursue research and development (R&D) at the joint research lab. Industry-academia cooperation, including startup creation and the establishment of standard technologies, will also take place.
This research collaboration gained momentum after Nvidia Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang visited the Seoul National University campus last month. Apart from the university joint research centers, Nvidia is also pursuing the establishment of its own R&D center in Seoul. ▷See Page 5 of this edition, and Pages 1 and 5 of the May 6 edition.
