Naver seals up to $9 billion Brookfield deal to finance its AI factory with Nvidia

South Korean internet and technology company Naver has finalized a deal with US-based asset manager Brookfield to secure up to $9 billion in artificial intelligence computing infrastructure, putting a formal financing structure in place for its $10 billion AI factory project with Nvidia, The Korea Herald reported. Naver disclosed the agreement in a regulatory filing on Oct. 27.

Under the deal, Brookfield will set up a special-purpose vehicle, tentatively named Asset Co, and invest up to $9 billion to secure graphics processing units, data centers and other AI infrastructure. Naver Cloud will access the computing resources through a GPU-as-a-service arrangement and provide AI data center services to external customers.

Naver will lead the AI factory business, drawing on its experience building and operating GPU clusters and data centers, while Nvidia will provide technical support including its DSX high-performance computing platform. The structure is designed to reduce Naver's upfront capital burden: Brookfield finances the infrastructure and Naver Cloud pays usage fees linked to revenue from the business, allowing capacity to expand in stages as demand grows. Although Asset Co will be wholly owned by a Brookfield investment vehicle, it is expected to be consolidated in Naver's financial statements as a subsidiary because Naver controls it.

The agreement also brings Nvidia's planned $1 billion equity investment in Naver closer to completion. The chipmaker is set to acquire newly issued shares through a third-party allotment, which would make it Naver's third-largest shareholder. Naver announced the AI factory project with Nvidia and Brookfield in July, after naming Brookfield its exclusive preferred negotiating partner.

"By combining our AI technology and data center operating expertise with Nvidia's advanced computing platform capabilities and Brookfield's global infrastructure investment expertise, we can ensure the business is both stable and competitive," a Naver official said. The deal adds to a growing list of special-purpose and lease-style structures that technology companies are using to fund the enormous cost of AI data centers.

---

Sources: The Korea Herald. Image: The Korea Herald.