SEOUL, July 27 (Yonhap) -- Naver Corp. said in a regulatory filing Monday it has agreed on a strategic partnership with U.S. chip giant Nvidia Corp. to jointly establish a massive, global artificial intelligence (AI) factory.

The South Korean portal operator will spearhead the acquisition of the data center site, as well as its construction and operations, while Nvidia will participate as the graphic processing unit supplier, according to the filing.

The partnership is aimed at "seizing business opportunities in the global AI computing market and securing new revenue streams," the filing claimed.

Under the agreement, Naver plans to gradually expand the initial NVIDIA DSX AI factory build-out at the GAK Sejong data center from 55 megawatts to 200 megawatts by 2028, with the ultimate goal to expand infrastructure to outside of the Asia-Pacific region, the filing said.

Nvidia plans to make an equity investment of around US$1 billion by acquiring common shares of Naver through a third-party private placement.

Brookfield is expected to provide the $9 billion worth of computing infrastructure through project financing, and Naver is set to designate the Toronto-based asset manager as the preferred bidder for the next 12 weeks as they continue discussions to finalize the agreement.

The expected investments will be made through 2028, but the amount that will directly come from Naver has not been decided yet, the latest report said.

The announcement came after a high-level meeting held last week with the heads of South Korean conglomerates and tech giants from the United States, which came on the sidelines of President Lee Jae Myung's visit to San Francisco.

fairydust@yna.co.kr

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