Key facts
- The memorandum links Nvidia GPUs with Rebellions neural processing units in SK Telecom AI data centers.
- The tie-up is based on Nvidia's NVLink Fusion program, which lets custom chip designers plug processors into Nvidia rack-scale infrastructure.
- South Korea's science and ICT ministry backed the partnership, expecting it to widen use of domestic advanced semiconductors.
- Nvidia declined to comment on the canceled visit by Madison Huang or on whether US congressional pressure affects its Korean partnerships.
Nvidia Corp., SK Telecom Co. and Korean AI chip startup Rebellions agreed on November 9 to combine their strengths to establish a heterogeneous computing system, under a trilateral memorandum of understanding signed on the sidelines of AI Day Seoul, a two-day Nvidia-hosted event in southern Seoul.
The companies will cooperate on a heterogeneous AI computing system connecting Nvidia's graphic processing units with neural processing units designed by Rebellions, to be used in building SK Telecom AI data centers. Yonhap reported that the tie-up will be based on the US chipmaker's NVLink Fusion program, which allows hyperscalers and custom chip designers to integrate their own AI processors directly into Nvidia's rack-scale infrastructure.
"Korea is a technology leader, and with AI being one of the fastest growing technologies that has ever happened ... this collaboration we are working on together, we believe, can help accelerate innovation in Korea," Jesse Clayton, the principal manager for AI infrastructure at Nvidia, said at a media round table following the signing.
South Korea's science and ICT ministry supported the partnership and said it expected it to expand the scope of application for domestic advanced semiconductors and provide opportunities for local companies in the global market, according to Yonhap.
Nvidia declined to comment on the abrupt cancellation of a visit by Madison Huang, a senior director at Nvidia and daughter of CEO Jensen Huang, or on his alleged relationship with a suspected Chinese spy. "It is not related to the event. We cannot answer because she (Madison) did not attend the event," an official from the US chipmaker said during the media session, responding to a question on whether pressure from the US Congress over the matter could affect Nvidia's partnerships with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix and its scheduled GPU deliveries to South Korea.
Yonhap reported that three Republican committee leaders asked Jensen Huang on Thursday, US time, to sit for a closed-door briefing on the alleged relationship with a businesswoman reportedly identified as an intelligence asset for Beijing, and that Nvidia said it opened an internal probe after Huang emailed employees admitting to being "unfaithful" to his wife and taking "full responsibility."