Naver has signed its first customer for the AI Factory business it is building with Brookfield and Nvidia. CEO Choi Soo-yeon said on the company's third-quarter 2026 earnings call on November 12, 2026 that Naver signed a computing services contract worth about 2 trillion won, about $1.5 billion, with a US company, The Korea Herald reported. The Korea Times and DigitalToday describe the customer as a US AI inference company. Naver did not name it.
The deal matters because it gives the project its first paying customer, after earlier news about its financing. Naver signed a $9 billion computing infrastructure deal with Brookfield earlier, and Nvidia completed a $1 billion payment for a 4.13 percent stake in Naver, AI Affairs reported.
What the contract covers
The deal covers about 20 megawatts of capacity over four to five years, according to The Korea Herald. Chief Financial Officer Kim Hee-cheul said on the call that the deal will generate about 2 trillion won in revenue over five years, Chosun Biz reported.
Other details from the call, as reported by Chosun Biz:
- The GPUs will be a mix of Nvidia B300 and Vera Rubin.
- The contract period is four to five years, depending on the chip type.
- Naver plans to start delivering initial volumes in stages from 2027.
Choi said the deal completes customer sign-up for the initial 2027 supply volume, DigitalToday reported.
"This is a meaningful contract that confirms actual market demand and the initial commercial viability of the AI factory business," Choi said, according to The Korea Times.
Capacity plan: 55 MW to 200 MW
Naver plans to launch services in the first half of 2027 with 55 MW, then scale to 100 MW by the end of 2027 and 200 MW in 2028, Chosun Biz reported. The long-term goal is 1 gigawatt of AI computing infrastructure, the same report said. All of these figures are planned capacity, not built capacity.
Choi said: "The contracted and completed data center capacity we have secured to date exceeds the target volume disclosed through 2028," according to Chosun Biz.
Kim said Naver is negotiating with more than 10 prospective customers outside Asia, including major AI model developers, for the remaining 180 MW, The Korea Herald reported.
Talks with Nvidia on a large server order
Naver is in talks with Nvidia on a server purchase order that would be Asia's largest, Chosun Biz reported. Edaily reported that Naver did not disclose the order volume or the timing of the contract signing.
Choi said a shortage of sites that can host the newest Nvidia systems works in Naver's favor. "Competition to lock up Nvidia's next-generation GPU, Vera Rubin, is intensifying, but there are only a limited number of sites with enough power and liquid-cooled data centers to accommodate them," Choi said, according to Seoul Economic Daily.
When Naver expects profit
Kim said Naver expects the AI Factory business to make an operating profit from 2027. "From 2027, even after excluding all costs and related expenses of the AI factory, we expect operating profit," Kim said, according to Chosun Biz.
He also said margins will start low. "There is a two- to three-month gap between equipment arrival and the start of actual service, so margins will start low in the first year," Kim said, adding that from the following year Naver expects "margins well into the double digits," the same report said. Kim said only one contract is final so far, and that Naver will give the specific profit contribution after more deals close.
Naver's third quarter
The deal came with Naver's third-quarter results. Naver reported record quarterly revenue of 3.47 trillion won, up 10.7 percent from a year earlier, The Korea Herald reported. Operating profit fell 20.9 percent to 451.3 billion won, amid higher spending on AI infrastructure, content and offline data, the same report said.
Naver also plans to launch a personal AI agent app by the end of the year, and to set up a logistics subsidiary, according to The Korea Herald.
What comes next
The 20 MW contract fills a small part of the 200 MW Naver plans for 2028. The next test is whether the talks with more than 10 other companies turn into signed contracts. "We will be able to announce the results of contract signings in sequence," Kim said, according to Chosun Biz.
Related: Report: Anthropic passes on 300MW Gumi AI data center and CoreWeave Q3 results and backlog.
Sources
- The Korea Herald: Naver lands W2tr AI computing deal, eyes logistics expansion (Nov 12, 2026)
- Chosun Biz: Naver discusses record Asia server order with Nvidia, wins 2 trillion won AI deal (Nov 12, 2026)
- The Korea Times: Naver clinches $1.5 bil. AI computing deal with US firm (Nov 12, 2026)
- DigitalToday: Naver signs 2 trillion won AI Factory computing services supply deal (Nov 12, 2026)
- Edaily: Naver secured over 200 MW for AI Factory (Nov 12, 2026)
- Seoul Economic Daily: NAVER Secures 2 Trillion Won in AI Factory Compute Deals (Nov 12, 2026)
- AI Affairs: Naver signs 2 trillion won US AI computing deal (Nov 12, 2026)
