Naver Cloud, the cloud computing division of South Korea’s tech leader Naver, is collaborating with U.S. chipmaker Intel to establish an AI chip software ecosystem in the country. The partnership aims to provide IT infrastructure utilizing Intel’s AI accelerator, Gaudi, to support AI research projects and software development initiatives by Korean startups and academic institutions.
This alliance comes as Intel seeks to strengthen its presence in the AI chip market, aiming to compete with Nvidia. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger recently unveiled the company’s next-generation AI accelerator, Gaudi 3, highlighting its enhanced performance compared to Nvidia’s graphic processing unit while emphasizing cost efficiency.Â
In addition to their collaborative efforts, Naver Cloud and Intel will establish a joint research center called Naver Cloud-IntelㆍCo-Lab (NICL). This initiative aims to facilitate cooperation between Naver Cloud and various startups and university labs for innovation in AI technology.
NICL is expected to be operational later this year. It will engage teams from approximately 20 universities and startups, including renowned institutions such as the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and Seoul National University.Â
Naver Cloud has announced its intention to conduct tests on Intel’s Gaudi 2 AI accelerator and collaborate with the U.S. chip giant to develop a commercial cloud system. With this partnership, the companies plan to build an AI ecosystem centered around Naver’s HyperClova X AI model, utilizing Intel’s AI chips.
Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yu-won emphasized the company’s unique position in AI, noting that only some companies globally have developed and operated large language models like Naver Cloud.Â
Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yu-won shared its vision for diversity in the tech landscape, noting its provision of alternative options for search engines, cloud services, and generative AI over the past 25 years. Kim emphasized that such diversity aligns with Naver’s core values and drives the company’s efforts to establish an AI chip ecosystem in Korea.
Ha Jung-woo, head of AI Innovation at Naver Cloud, expressed excitement about the collaboration between Naver and Intel and the potential innovations it could yield in AI chip development.Â
He highlighted the establishment of a joint lab between the two companies to expand the Gaudi software ecosystem and outlined plans to create an LLM training infrastructure on Gaudi 2. Through this collaboration, Naver aims to offer commercial cloud instances of this infrastructure to global enterprises and public sectors, enabling competitiveness and innovation in the emerging generative AI sector.
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