Nvidia to take 4.5% stake in Naver for $1 billion AI factory investment

Nvidia is set to become Naver's third-largest shareholder through a private placement, acquiring a 4.5% stake for approximately 1.48 trillion won ($1 billion). Naver announced the decision made at a board meeting on July 24, with the new shares to be issued at 204,500 won each.

This marks Naver's first private placement in 22 years and its first since its KOSPI listing in 2008. The company plans to allocate the entire amount raised from Nvidia to its new AI factory projects. Initial investments are slated for around 5 billion won this year, followed by 692 billion won next year, and an additional 783.8 billion won from 2028 onwards.

“

The investments from Nvidia and Brookfield will be a significant turning point for Naver's future growth.

Naver, Nvidia, and Brookfield also announced a tripartite collaboration to expand AI factory infrastructure. Naver aims to grow its AI factory capacity from the current 55 megawatts (MW) to 200 MW by 2028, with a long-term goal of building 1 gigawatt (GW) of infrastructure. Nvidia's $1 billion investment will support this, while Brookfield is considering up to $9 billion in funding for computing infrastructure through project financing.

“

We are very encouraged to have secured an opportunity to rapidly enter the global AI infrastructure market through Naver's technology and infrastructure.

Brookfield has proposed a project financing model for the computing infrastructure, and Naver is in negotiations to use this infrastructure. Naver has selected Brookfield as its exclusive preferred bidder for 12 weeks. This strategic move is expected to secure essential GPU supply and computing infrastructure for Naver's AI factories, positioning the company as a key AI factory hub in the Asia-Pacific region.

Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon expressed optimism, stating that Nvidia's and Brookfield's investments are a significant turning point for Naver's future growth. She highlighted the opportunity to rapidly enter the global AI infrastructure market using Naver's technology and infrastructure, and aims to accelerate customer acquisition for its AI factories.

“

We will speed up the acquisition of AI factory customers, making this a turning point for Naver to become a major player in the global AI infrastructure field.