Key Takeaways
- NVIDIA engaged South Korean power infrastructure companies regarding 800V DC data center design plans.
- The proposed 800V architecture would replace today’s standard 54V configuration, minimizing copper requirements, cable size, and power conversion steps.
- Companies potentially involved include LS Electric (010120), Hyundai Electric (267260), and Hyosung Heavy Industries.
- South Korea maintains a critical position in NVIDIA’s component supply chain through SK Hynix and Samsung memory production.
- NVIDIA and SK Telecom are collaboratively creating A.X K2, a Korean-language AI model, extending a collaboration initiated in 2021.
NVIDIA is strategically positioning itself within South Korea’s power infrastructure landscape, extending its relationship with the nation far beyond its existing memory chip partnerships.
The Asia Business Daily, a Korean publication, reported that NVIDIA contacted leading South Korean power equipment producers about developing data center systems utilizing 800-volt direct current technology. Industry insiders were cited in the report, though specific company names weren’t disclosed.
This 800V DC framework represents a substantial shift from established practices. Contemporary data centers predominantly operate on 54V architectures, requiring electricity to undergo numerous conversion phases before reaching computing hardware.
NVIDIA’s alternative methodology streamlines this to just one DC conversion step. The company detailed these advantages in a published blog entry — reduced copper consumption, slimmer cabling, and decreased current flow across the entire operation.
This represents a practical response to an escalating challenge. With AI computational demands intensifying, data centers face mounting power requirements, and current infrastructure approaches are reaching capacity.
South Korean Manufacturers Under Consideration
Though NVIDIA hasn’t officially identified its discussion partners, three corporations emerge as probable participants: LS Electric (010120), Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems (267260), and Hyosung Heavy Industries. Each company maintains substantial involvement in emerging energy infrastructure sectors.
Following the disclosure, LS Electric shares jumped 5.14% while Hyundai Electric gained 3.02%, signaling investor enthusiasm about this potential business opportunity.
Infrastructure compatibility presents the primary challenge. Current data center facilities weren’t engineered for 800V configurations, meaning any deployment would demand strategic evaluation of retrofit possibilities versus complete reconstruction requirements.
South Korea maintains an established presence in NVIDIA’s component network. The graphics processor manufacturer obtains high-bandwidth memory from both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, positioning the nation as an indispensable element of its technology foundation.
Collaboration With SK Telecom
Independent of the power infrastructure developments, SK Telecom announced its partnership with NVIDIA on A.X K2 — a Korean-language artificial intelligence foundation model created through a South Korean government-backed program.
The partnership has established roots. Collaboration commenced in 2021 when SK Telecom constructed its Titan supercomputer utilizing NVIDIA A100 graphics processing units.
During the previous year, they developed A.X K1 leveraging the NVIDIA NeMo platform. According to SK Telecom, that model contains 519 billion parameters.
A.X K2 will similarly incorporate NVIDIA technologies, with both organizations planning ongoing collaborative research into multimodal and vision language model development.
NVIDIA stock (NVDA) traded down 1.08% at publication time.
