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Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, poses with Lee Hae-jin at NAVER 1784 Building in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on June 8, 2026. (Photo: Yonhap News Agency) |
[Alpha Biz= Ellie Kim] Korea Investment & Securities maintained a “Buy” rating and a target price of 330,000 won on NAVER, citing its large-scale AI infrastructure investment as a “necessary move” for long-term growth.
According to the brokerage on June 9, NAVER unveiled its AI infrastructure roadmap during a recent conference call, announcing plans to build a 200MW-scale AI factory in collaboration with NVIDIA by 2028, with a longer-term goal of developing gigawatt (GW)-level infrastructure within five to six years.
Analyst Jeong Ho-yoon noted that NAVER is shifting away from its traditionally asset-light, B2C-focused strategy toward more aggressive capital investment to expand revenue and earnings amid a major industry inflection point.
He added that NAVER could evolve into a business model similar to “neo-cloud” providers such as CoreWeave and Nebius Group, with most of the capacity for the planned 200MW facility likely to be pre-contracted with clients.
The report also highlighted growing demand for GPUs driven by emerging trends such as physical AI and sovereign AI, which could expand NAVER’s potential customer base over time.
However, capital financing remains a key variable. The brokerage estimates that building GW-scale data centers could require $50–60 billion in investment. NAVER is expected to initially invest around $1 billion alongside partners for the 200MW facility and later secure additional funding through financial investors and bond issuance.
The report emphasized that NAVER’s traditional businesses have become slower-growing and heavily reliant on the domestic market, weighing on its valuation. The new AI investment is seen as a timely strategic shift with long-term upside potential.
Following news of the AI collaboration and a visit by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, NAVER shares rose 9.2% to close at 279,000 won in the previous session.
Alphabiz Ellie Kim 인턴기자(press@alphabiz.co.kr)
