NAVER Joins NVIDIA Consortium for 500MW AI Data Center

Paris, France - NAVER announced on Friday that it will participate in a consortium to build a 500-megawatt artificial intelligence data center in Morocco alongside NVIDIA Corp, Nexus Core Systems, and Lloyds Capital.

The project will target Europe, the Middle East, and Africa with AI computing services, with initial operations planned for the fourth quarter of this year, the South Korean company said.

The consortium will begin with a 40-megawatt facility utilizing NVIDIA Blackwell GB200 processors before expanding to the full 500-megawatt capacity in phases, according to NAVER's statement.

The data center will be located 15 kilometers from the European mainland and connected via submarine fiber-optic cables.

Power will come from renewable sources under an agreement with energy company TAQA, NAVER said.

NAVER Cloud will operate as a platform provider alongside the other consortium members, offering AI services through its cloud infrastructure.

The company said the project will address European data sovereignty requirements by enabling local data storage and processing.

The consortium selected Morocco, citing the country's proximity to Europe and lower electricity and operational costs, according to the statement.

"Trust in NAVER's technological expertise and execution capabilities, proven through our projects in Saudi Arabia, has led to our participation in this global project," said Chae Seon-ju, head of NAVER's strategic business division.

Chae said the project represents NAVER's expansion into Europe from its current operations in Japan, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

NAVER stated that it has capabilities across AI services, data processing, computing infrastructure, cloud services, and data centers.

The company said this addresses European requirements for data sovereignty and technological independence.

The Morocco facility marks NAVER's entry into the European market, expanding its presence beyond the existing regional footprint.