Science minister meets Jensen Huang, discusses AI ecosystem partnerships

SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon met with Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang in Seoul on Monday and discussed various areas of cooperation, including ways to nurture the local physical artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, the science ministry said.

The meeting took place during Huang's four-day visit to Seoul, which started Friday. He has met with executives from South Korea's major conglomerates in the AI supply chain, as well as researchers and representatives of startups in the sector.

Bae and Huang reaffirmed the importance of creating tangible results since the partnership between South Korea and Nvidia agreed to last year, on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting.

The science minister also asked Huang for the smooth supply of some 260,000 advanced chips from Nvidia agreed to during the APEC event, as well as the company's support in South Korea's effort to build an AI factory based on Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform.

The two discussed partnerships in the physical AI sphere, while Bae delivered his hope that Nvidia's upcoming AI research and development (R&D) center in Seoul could grow into a base for South Korea's partnership with the U.S. chipmaker, the science ministry added.

Jensen Huang, the chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., speaks to students at Seoul National University in Seoul on June 8, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)