Jensen Huang’s Visit to South Korea Sends Key Signal: South Korea’s Robotics Industry Is About to Enter Highlight Moment

TradingKey - On the afternoon of June 5, Seoul time, NVIDIA ( NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang arrived at Seoul Gimpo International Airport from Taiwan. Immediately upon landing, he shared a significant forecast with the media and the public: robotics will become South Korea's next major industry.

When asked if he had brought any gifts for South Korea, Huang stated clearly that this trip "brought substantial business opportunities," adding humorously, "I also have some surprises prepared." When pressed for details, he replied with a smile, "I can't say, or it wouldn't be a surprise."

This assessment is built on a solid foundation. South Korea is the world's fourth-largest market for industrial robots, with installations reaching 30,600 units in 2024 and an industry size of approximately 6 trillion won. According to statistics released in 2025, South Korea's industrial robot density has surged to 1,220 units per 10,000 workers, consistently ranking first in the world.

Huang noted that South Korea features a deep integration of manufacturing technology, mechatronics, and artificial intelligence, which are at the core of the robotics industry's development.

Huang specifically emphasized the concept of "Physical AI," which refers to AI systems understanding and manipulating the physical world. He stated, "South Korea is a global manufacturing hub, and the robotics technology and Physical AI developed here can be applied directly to local industries." From semiconductors to automotive assembly, and from smart factories to service robots, South Korea's complete industrial ecosystem provides ideal scenarios for robotics deployment.

NVIDIA is not just making verbal commitments. Huang revealed that the company has already begun recruitment for a South Korean R&D center and will further build dedicated R&D facilities once the team reaches a mature scale.

Meanwhile, NVIDIA's collaboration with South Korean companies such as Doosan Robotics is progressing steadily. NVIDIA's "Cosmos" platform enables robots to be trained in virtual environments and then deployed directly into real-world applications, covering fields such as manufacturing, logistics, and service robotics.

Huang's four-day visit to South Korea confirms the country's strategic status in the global AI and robotics landscape and outlines a clear path: with the accelerating integration of AI and the real economy, South Korea's manufacturing roots combined with NVIDIA's computing platform are expected to give rise to an emerging industry that far exceeds expectations. The "unrevealed surprises" he mentioned may be the most significant highlight of this resonance between technology and industry.