South Korea President Lee looking to open new era of AI in with global tech companies

• Top South Korean business leaders attended, including Samsung's Jay Y. Lee, SK Group's Chey Tae-won, Hyundai's Euisun Chung, and Naver founder Lee Hae-jin, with approximately 150 executives, investors, and researchers participating.
• Nvidia and SK Group announced a $500 billion-plus AI initiative featuring large-scale data centers and next-generation memory, with SK Telecom planning a 2-gigawatt data center using Vera Rubin chips and SK Hynix HBM4 memory, set to launch in 2027.
• President Lee emphasized South Korea's goal to become a 'key nation in the global AI supply chain' through technological cooperation with the United States.

South Korea Pursues AI Leadership Through U.S. Tech Partnerships

Key Development:

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung hosted an AI summit in San Francisco on July 24, 2026, convening leaders from Nvidia, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Broadcom alongside major South Korean business executives to position the country as a global AI powerhouse.

Major Participants:

• U.S. Tech: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan
• South Korean Corporations: Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, and Naver founder Lee Hae-jin

Key Announcements:

President Lee unveiled the "San Francisco AI Declaration," outlining South Korea's AI ambitions and framework for technological cooperation with the United States. The summit attracted approximately 150 executives, investors, researchers, and startup founders.

Major Investment:

Nvidia and SK Group announced a $500 billion-plus AI initiative featuring:

• Large-scale AI data center development
• Next-generation memory technology collaboration
• SK Telecom's planned 2-gigawatt data center utilizing Vera Rubin chips and SK Hynix HBM4 high-bandwidth memory chips
• Expected completion in 2027

Market Implications:

This partnership strengthens South Korea's position in the global AI supply chain, particularly in critical semiconductor and memory chip manufacturing. The massive investment signals intensifying competition in AI infrastructure development and reinforces the strategic alliance between U.S. AI technology leaders and South Korean hardware manufacturers. The initiative could significantly impact the semiconductor sector and AI data center markets, with South Korean firms positioning themselves as essential partners in the AI technology stack.