South Korean chipmakers and U.S. Big Tech companies have signed roughly $950 billion in AI-related agreements, a figure NHK reported as "$950 bil. in AI-related deals" between U.S. and South Korean firms. The Korea Times framed the package as partnerships that "reinforce Korea's place in the global AI supply chain," while Korea JoongAng Daily described the tally as nearly $1 trillion in deals that align American Big Tech with Korean chipmakers to "steer the future of AI."
The reason Korea sits at the center of this is memory. Modern AI accelerators need enormous amounts of high-speed memory sitting next to the processor, and Korean firms are the dominant suppliers of it. That makes them less a subcontractor to the AI boom than a gatekeeper of it.
Nvidia is a visible participant. According to GuruFocus, Nvidia's CEO has publicly highlighted South Korea's semiconductor opportunity. Tech Times reports that NAVER and Nvidia, together with Brookfield, are tripling Korea's AI factory capacity to 200 megawatts in a $10 billion deal — a reminder that AI capacity is now measured in electricity as much as in silicon.
Korean coverage strikes a more cautious note. Maeil Business Newspaper (매일경제) reports that the global AI companies brought in by "K Semiconductor" left promises extending beyond the deals themselves, and separately frames the moment against what it calls the "great transformation" of AI alongside a "K-shaped" polarization — the concern that the gains from an AI boom flow unevenly, lifting some firms and workers while leaving others behind.
The headline number covers pledges and partnerships rather than money already spent, and the sources here do not break down what portion is firm capital commitment versus intent.
Why it matters: whoever supplies the memory and the megawatts behind AI chips holds real leverage over how fast and how cheaply AI gets built — and these deals lock a small number of American and Korean firms into that position for years.