Naver has met the prerequisite conditions for NVIDIA’s strategic equity investment. Momentum is expected to build for the 1GW (gigawatt)-class global AI factory project jointly pursued by the three companies, including Brookfield.
On Tuesday, Naver disclosed that it had signed a computing infrastructure acquisition contract worth $9 billion (12 trillion won) with Brookfield. Naver plans to swiftly complete a third-party allotment rights offering (paid-in capital increase) for NVIDIA. With this, the AI factory project will enter its full execution phase.
Under the contract, Brookfield will establish an SPV (special purpose vehicle) tentatively named “Asset Co.” and invest up to $9 billion to secure AI infrastructure such as GPUs (graphics processing units) and data centers, before providing computing power to Naver Cloud, the operator of the AI factory. On top of this infrastructure foundation, Naver and Naver Cloud will operate the AI factory business based on their accumulated capabilities in building and operating large-scale proprietary GPU clusters and their expertise in data center operations.
The three companies plan to expand operational scale to 55MW (megawatts) in the first half of next year and to 200MW by 2028, while using the hyperscale data center “Each Sejong” as a hub to gradually extend their business into overseas markets.
NVIDIA will provide technical cooperation centered on next-generation high-performance computing platforms such as DSX, contributing to enhancing the technological competitiveness and infrastructure operational efficiency of the AI factory.
Through this contract signing and equity investment, the three companies have strengthened their strategic partnership and established a long-term cooperative relationship aimed at leading the global AI infrastructure market.
In particular, Naver expects its financial burden to be reduced by alleviating the initial investment costs required for large-scale AI infrastructure construction through cooperation with Brookfield, and by establishing a structure in which fees are paid in connection with business revenue.
Naver also agreed to provide payment guarantees of up to eight years regarding the fee payment obligations of its subsidiary, Naver Cloud. However, this payment guarantee is a measure to secure trust for smooth contract performance and does not translate into actual cash outlay or cost burden for Naver.
A Naver official stated, “Based on this business structure, we plan to secure both financial stability and business scalability,” adding, “We will actively respond to the rapidly growing AI computing demand in domestic and international markets and rise as a leading global AI infrastructure company.”
in TECH
