NVIDIA Partners with Rebellions and SK Telecom to Advance Korea's Sovereign AI Infrastructure

NVIDIA Expands Sovereign AI Collaboration in Korea

NVIDIA has announced a major collaboration with Korean AI chip startup Rebellions and telecommunications giant SK Telecom to advance Korea's sovereign AI infrastructure.1

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The partnership, supported by Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT, aims to connect domestic semiconductor innovation with the systems and operational capabilities needed to deliver AI at scale.2

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The agreement was signed during AI Day Seoul, marking a turning point for Korea's sovereign AI ecosystem.3

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Connecting Korean Chips to NVIDIA NVLink Fusion

Under the trilateral memorandum of understanding, Rebellions will use NVIDIA NVLink Fusion to connect its next-generation Rebel R200 neural processing units to NVIDIA's open infrastructure platform.2

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The R200 NPUs are optimized for low-latency and energy-efficient inference using frontier models, including multitrillion-parameter mixture-of-experts models.2

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This heterogeneous computing system will combine Rebellions' Korean-designed AI semiconductors with NVIDIA's graphic processing units, creating a rack-scale infrastructure for AI workloads.3

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The NVIDIA MGX rack architecture will support system development, while the MGX ecosystem provides access to an established supply chain of original design manufacturers and component suppliers.2

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SK Telecom's Full-Stack Sovereign AI Vision

SK Telecom plans to deploy these systems in its AI data centers, leveraging its experience in building and operating AI infrastructure alongside proprietary foundation models and public-facing services.2

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The company's full-stack approach spans infrastructure, proprietary models like A.X K2, and services developed under Korea's AI for All project.2

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Jung Jai-hun, president and CEO of SK Telecom, emphasized that the collaboration validates the potential of next-generation sovereign AI infrastructure by combining global AI technology with Korean AI semiconductors.2

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Broader Implications for Korea AI Systems

NVIDIA and Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT are expanding their collaboration across the country's sovereign AI ecosystem, from AI semiconductors and data center infrastructure to talent, startups, models, agents and security.1

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The collaboration lays the groundwork for Korean NPU and XPU companies to explore participation in the NVIDIA NVLink Fusion ecosystem.1

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Through Korea's AI for All initiative, NVIDIA will collaborate with three selected consortia and four leading Korean foundation model builders, using NVIDIA Dynamo software to optimize and scale AI inference.1

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The Ministry of Science and ICT vowed to support local NPU developers beyond Rebellions in pursuing similar collaborations, helping develop Korea's advanced-chip ecosystem.3

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Strategic Positioning for Global AI Competition

Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, stated that Korea has the talent, technology and industrial ambition to become a world leader in AI, noting that sovereign AI gives nations the power to turn their language, culture and expertise into intelligence.2

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Sunghyun Park, cofounder and CEO of Rebellions, described the announcement as opening a new chapter for sovereign AI by connecting Korea's AI silicon and models with global systems technology.2

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The agreement to connect locally produced neural processing units to NVIDIA's architecture will expand the scope of application for domestic advanced semiconductors and provide an opportunity for local companies to verify their technologies in the global market.3

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The collaboration positions Korea to deliver AI services tailored to its language, industries and priorities while establishing Korean technology as a core pillar powering AI worldwide.2

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