Naver’s top executives discuss sovereign AI with Nvidia CEO

Naver Global Investment Officer and founder Lee Hae-jin and Chief Executive Officer Choi Soo-yeon met with Jensen Huang, the co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, to discuss strengthening their partnership in the rising artificial intelligence technology, according to the Korean internet giant Thursday.

Naver’s key executives, including Lee, Choi and Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yoo-won met with Huang at Nvidia’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California on Tuesday. During their meeting, the executives shared a consensus on the importance of sovereign AI which refers to a nation's capabilities to produce artificial intelligence using its own infrastructure, data, workforce and business.

The concept of sovereign AI also aims for governments to harness AI for their socio-economic, cultural and geopolitical contexts.

In a social media post, Naver released a photo of Lee and Choi posing with Huang, while holding a picture frame with a photo of Nvidia’s headquarters in it.

It is the first time Naver’s executives have held a meeting with the chief of the world’s top graphic processing unit maker. Naver, which developed HyperCLOVA X, an advanced Korean large language model, is a client using Nvidia’s AI chips.

'The two companies have been the leaders in underscoring the importance of sovereign AI from early on. We plan to work closely together to come up with various AI models that respect each region's culture and value," Naver said in the social media post.

Earlier in the month, Naver announced AI Safety Framework, a proactive scheme under which the IT giant assess and manage risks associated with AI, to protect from such risks it defines as "severe disempowerment of the human species and misuse of the technology."