Naver secures combined $10 billion investment from Nvidia, Brookfield
Naver founder Lee Hae-jin said that the two companies' network and capital would finally allow Naver to scale up its technological and operational expertise and establish its AI infrastructure business.
Naver founder Lee Hae-jin speaks during an AI summit in San Francisco on July 24.NEWS1
Naver has secured a combined $10 billion investment from Nvidia and global alternative asset manager Brookfield — a deal that Naver founder Lee Hae-jin said will accelerate the company’s push to establish a global AI infrastructure business.
Lee announced the investment at the San Francisco AI Summit on Friday and said that the partnership will allow Naver to leverage the two companies’ capital, global networks and technological capabilities to expand its AI and data center businesses overseas.
“Nvidia and Brookfield will invest a substantial $10 billion in Naver,” he said. “This will enable Naver to advance to a new stage.”
President Lee Jae Myung, center, speaks during the San Francisco AI Summit at The Midway in San Francisco on July 24.YONHAP
According to Lee, Naver’s biggest challenge had been expanding its technological and operational expertise, accumulated over three decades of competing with U.S. and Chinese companies.
“The challenge that Naver faced was scaling up the knowledge and operational expertise that it has accumulated,” he said. “The two companies’ global brands and networks, as well as their capital, will create a major opportunity for Naver to [overcome this obstacle].”
The investment is expected to provide the foundation for Naver’s global AI infrastructure business, which would combine its data center design and operating capabilities with its AI models and cloud services.
Naver fostered those abilities while developing and operating various internet services, from its search engine and commerce platform to cloud computing and data center design and construction, Lee said.
As part of the partnership, Naver will work with Nvidia on an “AI Factory” spanning AI computing infrastructure, AI models and enterprise services.
Brookfield, on the other hand, is expected to support Naver’s expansion by providing financing and infrastructure investment backed by its experience in large-scale assets such as data centers, electricity and energy.
Naver headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Nov. 27, 2025YONHAP
During the event, Lee also warned against the growing concentration of AI and related services across a handful of companies, arguing that preserving diversity should remain a central goal of the AI industry.
“The […] world that Naver envisions is not one in which [a few] groups dominate and control the internet and AI,” he said. “Multiple forms of AI must emerge and operate across countries, groups and individuals.”
“We will develop and research more technologies through this new opportunity for Naver’s growth,” Lee continued. “We will do our best to work with companies around the world that share our vision to create a world in which diverse forms of AI coexist.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
