AMD CEO Lisa Su Forges Korean AI Partnerships to Challenge Nvidia's Dominance

AMD CEO Lisa Su Strengthens Korean AI Partnerships

AMD CEO Lisa Su positioned Korean AI chipmakers at the center of strategic partnership discussions during meetings in Seoul on Wednesday, exploring how Korean neural processing units could work alongside AMD processors in AI computing systems built for global markets1

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. In discussions with Second Vice Science Minister Ryu Je-myung and executives from 13 Korean AI companies, Lisa Su outlined plans to pair AMD's CPUs and GPUs with domestically developed neural processing units designed for AI inference2

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. The AI partnerships could expand AMD's inference offerings and provide Korean AI chipmakers a route to global customers, broadening AMD's challenge to Nvidia in AI computing.

Establishing AI Research Center in Korea

AMD announced plans to establish an AI research center in Korea by the end of this year and hire hundreds of researchers as part of broader AI cooperation between the company and Korea2

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. Su reaffirmed plans to create an AI Center for Excellence in the country, with AMD funding hardware for the center whose location has yet to be selected1

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. The company will also continue supporting graduate-level AI training and help develop AI transformation talent through collaboration with Korean institutions. Su highlighted a recent AI cooperation agreement with Seoul National University's AI Institute and pledged to expand partnerships with Korean universities and startups.

Heterogeneous AI Computing and Open Ecosystem Strategy

The discussions reflect a broader shift in AI competition toward complete AI computing systems that combine chips, software and cloud infrastructure. AMD plans to collaborate with Korea on a reference model for heterogeneous AI computing that would combine AMD's CPUs and GPUs with domestically developed neural processing units2

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. Demonstration projects in Korea would test these systems to develop a blueprint for overseas deployment1

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. Participants also explored joining AMD's open-source ROCm software ecosystem, which competes with Nvidia's CUDA platform. "I am a big believer in an open ecosystem," Su said, describing Korea as an important partner in advancing AI and expanding its use worldwide1

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Expanding AI Infrastructure Through MangoBoost Partnership

Su announced AMD is investing in local computing capacity for startups and other users, citing its first cloud infrastructure project with MangoBoost1

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. AMD later announced it would expand AI infrastructure in Korea in partnership with MangoBoost2

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. The roundtable brought together 13 companies spanning key areas of AI infrastructure, including FuriosaAI, HyperAccel, DeepX, Mobilint, MangoBoost, Panmnesia, Dnotitia, Moreh, Nota AI, Lablup, Fadu, Elice Group and Upstage1

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. The ministry said it would review proposals from the participating Korean AI companies and develop them into concrete joint projects with AMD2

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Samsung Electronics Collaboration and Future Prospects

The AI cooperation agreement builds on discussions that began during President Lee Jae Myung's visit to an AI summit in San Francisco in July1

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. Su was expected to meet Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun, who heads its semiconductor business1

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. During her March visit, Su met Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and signed a cooperation agreement with Jun. AMD named Samsung a preferred supplier of HBM4 memory for its MI455X AI accelerator, and the companies explored having Samsung manufacture future AMD chips1

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. Ryu said AMD's global reach and Korean companies' technological expertise could support new AI technologies and businesses while helping the country's AI chip industry expand1

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