Shares of South Korean internet and cloud service giant Naver jumped more than 10 per cent on Monday after it said Nvidia would acquire $1 billion of its new shares to finance a project to expand an AI data centre.
The move underscores a deepening partnership between the two companies, which in June announced plans to build global AI infrastructure to tap demand for sovereign AI in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Middle East.
As the first step, the two firms and investment group Brookfield announced on Friday plans to expand Naver’s AI data centre in South Korea with up to $10 billion in funding.
Naver said on Monday it will place 7.2 million new shares with Nvidia for 204,500 won each, or a 1 per cent discount to its closing price on Friday, as part of the agreement. Brookfield will provide up to $9 billion in financing as the project’s capital partner, Naver added.
With the investment, Nvidia would become one of the biggest shareholders of Naver, owning a 4.5 per cent stake. The National Pension Service was the biggest shareholder of Naver with a 9.25 per cent stake, followed by BlackRock Fund Advisors with 6.12 per cent as of end-2025.
