Nvidia-Backed Startup Plans Billion-Dollar AI Fortress in South Korea

Reflection AI, a startup founded by former DeepMind researchers, is making a bold $2B+ play to establish an AI stronghold in South Korea. Backed by Nvidia and an investment group linked to Donald Trump Jr., the company plans to build a massive data center in partnership with retail giant Shinsegae Group. The facility will be powered by thousands of Nvidia GPUs and is explicitly positioned as a strategic bulwark against the adoption of Chinese open-source AI models, such as DeepSeek and Alibaba's Qwen, in the region.

While Reflection AI has not yet released its own model, it aims to develop open-source AI specifically tuned to Korean language and cultural nuances, enabling more localized apps and services. This move aligns with broader U.S. geopolitical and economic goals to improve competitiveness in the global AI market. Nvidia's involvement is part of its aggressive strategy to fund and supply the infrastructure for the AI boom, having also invested $30B in OpenAI and $2B in data center startup Nscale.

The project highlights the circular nature of Nvidia's dominance: its record profits from selling AI chips fuel massive investments in companies that, in turn, become major customers for its hardware. This South Korean data center represents a significant bet on Asia's AI future, aiming to create a regional hub for open-source development that counters both Chinese influence and the closed models of U.S. giants like OpenAI and Anthropic.