Rebellion Weighs Partnership or Acquisition with Nvidia Amid Sovereign AI Push

Rebellion, a South Korean AI chip startup, is considering a technology partnership or investment from Nvidia, as well as a possible acquisition. The potential cooperation comes after CEOs Jensen Huang of Nvidia and Park Sung-hyun of Rebellion met in the US to discuss the deal. This move could expand Rebellion's access to US data centers and hyperscalers.

Rebellion has emerged as a key player in advancing sovereign AI and K-NPUs, receiving $181 million from the National Growth Fund and strategic investments from Aramco and others. The company has argued that surpassing Nvidia is unrealistic but can replace GPU demand in the inference market. It aims to capture sovereign AI demand in Europe and the Middle East.

Industry participants view the potential acquisition as unlikely due to Rebellion's investment from the National Growth Fund. However, a partnership or investment could significantly boost Rebellion's growth and revenue, which were around 30 billion won last year.