President Lee Jae Myung met Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang on Friday, as the U.S. chipmaker outlined a series of major cooperation projects with South Korean technology companies, including a US$500 billion business partnership with SK Group.

The meeting was held on the first day of Lee's two-day visit to San Francisco, a trip aimed at promoting artificial intelligence investment and expanding cooperation between global technology companies and South Korea. Nvidia is a leading supplier of graphics processing units used to train and run advanced AI systems, while South Korea is home to major semiconductor, automotive and internet companies seeking to expand their AI capabilities.

Huang referred to investment plans that Nvidia is expected to commit to during an artificial intelligence meeting in San Francisco. The gathering brought together leaders of global technology companies and the heads of major South Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.

During his meeting with Lee, Huang also announced plans to jointly develop a self-driving Genesis sedan with South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group. He also said Nvidia would make a large-scale investment in internet portal Naver to support the company's efforts to expand its presence both in South Korea and overseas.

Huang said Nvidia plans to sign partnerships with SK hynix Inc. and Samsung Electronics in chip design and memory design. Both South Korean companies are major players in advanced memory chips, a key component in AI computing systems.

The Nvidia CEO also said the company will work with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, or KAIST, to build what he called a Korea AI. He added that Nvidia will seek to develop a large language model for South Korea within the country. (Yonhap)