Key Highlights
- Nvidia has initiated discussions with South Korean power equipment manufacturers regarding 800V DC data center design and implementation.
- This 800V infrastructure would replace today’s standard 54V configuration, minimizing copper requirements, cable size, and power conversion steps.
- Leading candidates for collaboration include Hyundai Electric (267260), LS Electric (010120), and Hyosung Heavy Industries.
- The nation already plays a crucial role in Nvidia’s ecosystem through Samsung and SK Hynix high-bandwidth memory production.
- Nvidia and SK Telecom continue their collaboration on A.X K2, a Korean-language AI model, extending a partnership established in 2021.
Nvidia is quietly advancing its presence in South Korea’s electrical infrastructure landscape, extending its relationship with the country far beyond memory chip procurement.
The Asia Business Daily, a Korean publication, reported that Nvidia has contacted leading South Korean power equipment producers to discuss constructing data center facilities utilizing 800-volt direct current systems. While industry insiders confirmed the discussions, the report did not disclose specific company names.
This 800V DC framework represents a significant shift from prevailing standards. Contemporary data centers predominantly operate on 54V systems, necessitating electricity to flow through several conversion phases before powering processors.
Nvidia’s alternative methodology streamlines this to just one DC conversion. In a company blog post, Nvidia detailed the advantages — reduced copper consumption, slimmer cabling, and decreased current across the entire facility.
This represents a practical response to an escalating challenge. With AI computational demands expanding rapidly, data centers are drawing unprecedented power levels, exposing limitations in current infrastructure designs.
South Korean Manufacturers Under Consideration
Although Nvidia hasn’t publicly identified its potential partners, three companies emerge as strong possibilities: Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems (267260), LS Electric (010120), and Hyosung Heavy Industries. Each firm maintains an established presence in emerging energy infrastructure solutions.
Following the report’s publication, LS Electric shares jumped 5.14% while Hyundai Electric gained 3.02%, signaling investor enthusiasm about this potential business opportunity.
Compatibility presents the primary challenge. Current data center facilities weren’t designed for 800V systems, meaning any deployment would demand strategic planning to determine which components can be upgraded versus those requiring complete replacement.
South Korea maintains an established position within Nvidia’s supply network. The graphics processor manufacturer procures high-bandwidth memory from both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, establishing the nation as an essential component of its technology infrastructure.
Expanding SK Telecom Collaboration
Independently of the power infrastructure developments, SK Telecom announced its ongoing collaboration with Nvidia on A.X K2 — a Korean-language artificial intelligence foundation model created as part of a South Korean government-backed program.
The partnership between these organizations has substantial history. Their collaboration began in 2021 when SK Telecom constructed its Titan supercomputer utilizing Nvidia A100 GPUs.
In the previous year, they developed A.X K1 using the Nvidia NeMo dataset. According to SK Telecom, this model features 519 billion parameters.
A.X K2 will similarly leverage Nvidia’s technology platform, with both organizations planning collaborative research focused on multimodal and vision language models moving forward.
Nvidia stock (NVDA) traded down 1.08% at the time of this report.
