When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang arrived in South Korea, international consideration turned to a viral “chimaek” (fried rooster and beer) dinner on October 30 that includes Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Executive Chair Chung Eui-sun. Yet, the highlight shifted the next day to SK Group—and significantly its reminiscence arm, SK Hynix, which co-headlined a landmark AI infrastructure deal that analysts have known as a strategic win.
The query hanging over the spontaneous Gangnam gathering was easy: why was SK Hynix, Nvidia’s largest provider of high-bandwidth reminiscence (HBM) for AI chips, conspicuously absent?
Strategic sequencing: why SK missed the picture op
The absence of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won from the headline-grabbing chimaek summit was much less a diplomatic slight than a matter of logistics and timing.
Sources acquainted with the matter mentioned the dinner was by no means meant to be a proper “Korea Inc.” assembly. Huang himself described it as merely eager to “eat chimaek with friends,” not maintain a press convention, and the casual venue might accommodate solely a small circle.
Moreover, Chairman Chey was in closing preparations for the APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju, some 250 kilometers away, on the identical night of October 30. Travel constraints made attendance impractical. SK Group later confirmed that Chey had prioritized summit obligations and already had a separate, formal assembly with Huang scheduled for October 31.
In the tip, whereas Samsung and Hyundai loved what many in Korea dubbed “cultural theater”—a photo-friendly show of camaraderie—SK hynix secured the actual substance. As one on-line remark succinctly put it, “SK hynix is in the GPU, not the photo. They’re fine.”
The subsequent day’s focus: HBM and the 50,000-GPU AI manufacturing unit
While others had been sharing rooster, SK hynix was securing its function on the coronary heart of Korea’s AI future. At the APEC Summit on October 31, Nvidia introduced an expanded partnership with SK Group to construct an AI manufacturing unit devoted to semiconductor analysis, growth, and manufacturing.
The facility will deploy greater than 50,000 Nvidia GPUs and is anticipated to change into one in all Korea’s largest AI factories when accomplished in late 2027.
At its core, the collaboration cements SK Hynix’s place within the superior AI platform provide chain:
HBM developments: Joint efforts will concentrate on growing next-generation SK Hynix high-bandwidth reminiscence (HBM) and different superior reminiscence options for Nvidia GPUs.
AI-driven chip design: Using Nvidia’s…
