SEOUL, South Korea — Nvidia officials have expressed their intent to give South Korea priority access to the company’s next-generation Vera Rubin graphics processing units, according to a senior South Korean government official.
Second Vice Science Minister Ryu Je-myung made the remarks in a social media post recalling his recent visit to Nvidia’s headquarters in the United States following his attendance at the CES 2026 technology show in Las Vegas.
“Nvidia officials pledged early supply of its Blackwell GB300 GPUs, as well as priority supply to South Korea of the Vera Rubin series, which is scheduled to enter mass production in 2027,” Ryu said.
Ryu said he was personally guided during the visit by Madison Huang, the daughter of Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang. He described the commitment as significant, noting that early access to advanced GPUs plays a critical role in global competition over artificial intelligence model development.
“As the opportunity to use the latest GPUs ahead of others plays a very important role in competition over AI models, such a promise is meaningful,” he said.
In October, Nvidia announced plans to supply up to 260,000 GPUs to South Korea in cooperation with the government and major domestic companies to help build large-scale AI factories in the country.
Ryu also commented on his experience with autonomous vehicle technologies showcased at CES, pointing to intensifying competition across AI-driven sectors.
“We are already facing a situation in which products and services across all sectors, including autonomous driving, robotics, digital health care, and smart home solutions, cannot survive without a competitive AI foundation,” he said.
Separately, South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT said it has shared views with Nvidia on the swift establishment of a research center in the country. Ryu met with Nvidia Executive Vice President Jay Puri in California on Friday, according to the ministry.
During the meeting, both sides agreed on the need to promptly set up Nvidia’s research and development facility in South Korea and discussed ways to jointly support and nurture artificial intelligence startups, the ministry said. (Source: IANS)
