▲ Naver founder and Chairman of the Board Lee Hae-jin (left) and Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon applaud during the 2026 Bank of Korea-Naver Joint AX Conference held at the Bank of Korea conference hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, last January.
Naver founder and Chairman of the Board Lee Hae-jin, CEO Choi Soo-yeon, and other top executives are visiting the Canadian headquarters of Brookfield, a global alternative asset manager, signaling that a multi-trillion won investment for Naver may be imminent.
Following his visit to Canada, Chairman Lee is reportedly coordinating a meeting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in Silicon Valley, U.S.
The move is interpreted as an effort to secure large-scale infrastructure, including data centers, power, and servers, required for the construction of an "AI Factory," and to discuss concrete implementation plans.
According to IT and investment industry sources on Monday (July 20), Chairman Lee and CEO Choi are scheduled to visit Brookfield's headquarters in Toronto, Canada, early this week.
Kim Hee-chul, Naver's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and key executives from related subsidiaries are also accompanying them on the trip.
It is considered highly unusual for a founder, a CEO, and a CFO to visit a foreign company's headquarters together.
In particular, the presence of the CFO, who oversees investment and finance, has led to speculation that discussions on the specific investment structure and scale have effectively entered the final stage, going beyond simple business cooperation.
The expected investment scale is estimated to be at least in the trillions of won.
Industry insiders believe that Naver's management will meet with top-level officials at Brookfield to focus on discussing large-scale investments and financing plans for data centers as well as the construction of an "AI Factory."
An "AI Factory" is a facility that provides large-scale computing power by integrating AI models and cloud technology onto a physical foundation of graphics processing unit (GPU) servers, data centers, and power and cooling systems.
Brookfield is a world-renowned alternative asset manager based in Canada with strengths in large-scale real asset investments, including infrastructure, renewable energy, and data centers.
If Naver secures Brookfield's capital and infrastructure management capabilities, it is expected that the "AI Factory" project being pursued with Nvidia will gain momentum.
The specific investment method has not been confirmed.
However, it is known that it is highly likely to be a joint venture or project financing for data center and "AI Factory" projects, rather than an equity investment.
Chairman Lee also plans to visit Silicon Valley in the U.S. following his trip to Toronto.
It is reported that Chairman Lee is coordinating a meeting with CEO Huang during his visit to the U.S.
The two previously met at Naver's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, early last month during CEO Huang's visit to Korea, where they unveiled plans to build a gigawatt (GW)-class, ultra-large global "AI Factory."
Regarding this, a Naver official stated, "There is nothing we can confirm."
An official from Brookfield's Korea office also stated, "We are not aware of any visit by Naver's management to the headquarters or any investment," adding, "We have not heard anything from the headquarters."
Previously, Naver has also been pursuing technical cooperation with Nvidia to build an "AI Factory."
While the cooperation with Nvidia focused on building an ecosystem for GPUs, servers, and AI technology, this visit to Brookfield is reportedly more focused on financing for the creation of hard infrastructure, such as data centers, power, and land.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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