South Korea Selects Naver, Samsung SDS for 1.35 Billion Dollar AI Highway Project

According to Chosun Daily, South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT selected Naver Cloud, Samsung SDS, and Elice Group on June 8 for a 2.1 trillion won (US$1.35 billion) AI infrastructure project. The deployment includes 2,016 Vera Rubin GPU units and 7,688 B300 units, with 6,376 reserved for government use in sovereign AI models and national projects, and 3,328 B300 units operated by the three companies for cloud services.

The ministry plans to place purchase orders this month and launch B300-based services by year-end. Vera Rubin services will roll out in phases starting in the first half of 2027. The initiative is part of South Korea's broader AI Highway program, targeting 37,000 total GPUs by 2026 for national use and public-private collaboration.