Nvidia completes $1 billion Naver investment, takes 4.13% stake

Overview

Updated 53 minutes ago

Nvidia paid 1.34 trillion won ($1 billion) for 6.56 million newly issued Naver shares on November 6, giving it a 4.13% stake. The Korean internet company is now the chipmaker's partner in building GPU data centers, with Nvidia as its third-largest shareholder behind the National Pension Service and BlackRock.

The stake is payment for infrastructure, not a passive bet. Naver must stand up 55 megawatts of GPU capacity at its Sejong data center by mid-2027, scaling to 200 megawatts in 2028, while Brookfield funds up to $9 billion of the hardware. Whether Naver can sell that compute to global customers is the open question.

Why it matters

Nvidia is trading cash for guaranteed data-center capacity, tying a Korean cloud operator into its chip ecosystem and testing whether equity stakes can lock in AI demand.

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Key Indicators

$1B

Nvidia's equity investment

Paid in full on November 6, 2026, for newly issued Naver shares.

4.13%

Nvidia's stake in Naver

Makes Nvidia the third-largest shareholder after the National Pension Service and BlackRock.

6,558,435

New shares issued

Priced at 204,500 won each; shares list on the KOSPI on November 27, 2026.

₩1.34T

Won proceeds to Naver

Final amount fell about 139.7 billion won from the provisional figure as the won strengthened against the dollar.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Jensen Huang

Chief executive, Nvidia

Signed the July 2026 investment agreement with Naver

Lee Hwa-jin

Founder and chairman, Naver

Nvidia's stake will exceed his own holding

Choi Soo-yeon

Chief executive, Naver

Leading the AI factory business

Bruce Flatt

Chief executive, Brookfield

Committed up to $9 billion for GPU infrastructure

Organizations Involved

Nvidia Corporation

Semiconductor company

Third-largest shareholder in Naver

The dominant maker of AI accelerators, now using equity stakes to secure data-center capacity.

Naver

Internet and cloud company

Building GPU data centers with Nvidia and Brookfield

South Korea's largest search and internet portal, expanding into AI computing services.

Brookfield

Asset manager

Funding up to $9 billion of GPU infrastructure

Canadian investment firm providing the capital for Naver's GPU and data-center assets.

Naver Cloud

Cloud computing subsidiary

Will operate the GPU infrastructure

Naver's wholly owned cloud unit, responsible for running and selling GPU compute capacity.

Timeline

June 2026 November 2026

6 events Latest: Today

Tap a bar to jump to that date

November 2026
New shares scheduled to list on KOSPI
Upcoming Market

The 6.56 million shares issued to Nvidia are set to begin trading.
November 27th, 2026
Nvidia completes payment, takes 4.13% stake
Today Deal

Naver receives 1.34 trillion won and issues the new shares, making Nvidia its third-largest shareholder. The shares carry a one-year lockup.
Today
Final terms confirmed at 1.34 trillion won
Filing

Naver corrects its disclosure: 6,558,435 shares at 204,500 won each, down about 683,000 shares from the provisional figure after the won strengthened.
3 days ago
October 2026
Naver and Brookfield sign $9 billion infrastructure deal
Deal

Brookfield commits up to $9 billion for 200 megawatts or more of Nvidia GPU infrastructure, satisfying Nvidia's investment precondition.
October 27th, 2026
July 2026
Investment agreement signed in California
Deal

Jensen Huang and Lee Hae-jin sign a $1 billion equity investment agreement, conditional on Naver securing at least $9 billion in computing infrastructure.
July 24th, 2026
June 2026
Nvidia and Naver announce joint AI factory venture
Announcement

The two companies outline plans to build GPU-based infrastructure in South Korea, starting at Naver's Gak Sejong data center.
June 1st, 2026

Scenarios

Naver hits its 2027 GPU capacity target at Sejong

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Naver's own public buildout schedule, reported by Yonhap and Financial Post

Naver brings 55 megawatts of GPU capacity online at its Gak Sejong data center in the first half of 2027, then scales toward 100 megawatts by year-end. Hitting the schedule would validate the Nvidia-Brookfield structure and give Naver Cloud capacity to sell.

Brookfield closes the $9 billion infrastructure deal on schedule

Likely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Brookfield's own announcement, reported by E-Daily

Brookfield's special-purpose company completes the asset purchase and financing by early 2027, as the firm said it expected. Closing would lock in the capital that Nvidia's investment depended on and let construction proceed.

Naver struggles to fill GPU capacity with paying customers

Uncertain Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: E-Daily and Financial Post, which flagged customer acquisition and profitability as the key remaining test

Naver builds the data centers but cannot sign enough long-term compute contracts to cover the roughly 1.34 trillion won it is spending through 2028. The GPU-as-a-service business becomes a drag rather than a growth engine.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

July 2019

Microsoft invests $1 billion in OpenAI (2019)

Microsoft put $1 billion into OpenAI and agreed to build and supply the cloud computing the lab needed to train large models. The deal tied a cash investment to guaranteed infrastructure, with Microsoft getting exclusive cloud rights.

Then

OpenAI gained the compute to train GPT-3 and later models; Microsoft gained a leading position in generative AI.

Now

The structure became a template for pairing equity with compute commitments, and Microsoft's stake grew enormously in value.

Why this matters now

Nvidia's Naver stake follows the same logic: cash and hardware in exchange for a locked-in customer and infrastructure partner.

2023

Nvidia invests in CoreWeave (2023)

Nvidia took an equity stake in CoreWeave, a cloud provider that rents out Nvidia GPUs, as part of a push to support the companies building AI data centers around its chips.

Then

CoreWeave expanded rapidly and became one of the largest buyers of Nvidia hardware.

Now

CoreWeave went public in 2025, and Nvidia's practice of investing in its own customers drew scrutiny over whether it was propping up demand.

Why this matters now

The Naver deal extends Nvidia's pattern of taking stakes in the operators that buy its chips, raising the same question about how much of the demand is circular.

September 2020 - February 2022

Nvidia's failed ARM acquisition (2020-2022)

Nvidia agreed to buy chip designer ARM for about $40 billion. Regulators in the US, UK, EU and elsewhere challenged the deal over competition concerns.

Then

The acquisition collapsed in February 2022, and ARM later went public on its own.

Now

Nvidia shifted toward partnerships and minority stakes rather than outright acquisitions to expand its ecosystem.

Why this matters now

The Naver stake shows Nvidia's post-ARM playbook: influence through investment and supply agreements instead of ownership.