[Edaily Marketin Reporter Hur Jieun ] As Naver partners with NVIDIA and Brookfield Asset Management to build a large-scale Sovereign AI Factory, misunderstandings are spreading in the market regarding the details of the investment structure. While some reports have suggested that NVIDIA and Brookfield are both directly injecting funds into a Naver subsidiary, Brookfield’s investment is project-based capital allocated to the AI infrastructure assets being developed by Naver, not to the subsidiary itself.

According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 29th, NVIDIA is making a direct equity investment of $1 billion (approximately 1.3 trillion won) in Naver. NVIDIA will acquire a 4.5% stake in Naver (7,241,564 shares), becoming the third-largest shareholder. NVIDIA’s investment is structured as a strategic equity acquisition subject to standard closing conditions.

In contrast, the funds from Brookfield—amounting to up to $9 billion (approximately 12 trillion won)—will not be used for Naver’s capital increase or share purchases. Instead, Brookfield will utilize its approximately $100 billion in global AI infrastructure assets under management (AUM) to invest directly in “AI infrastructure assets” themselves, including the 200 MW expansion of the Sejong data center, data center operations, and power supply.

This structural difference appears to have stemmed from a misunderstanding of the context at the time of the initial investment announcement. As the phrases “NVIDIA’s $1 billion investment” and “Brookfield’s $9 billion investment” were used interchangeably, some market participants interpreted this to mean that Brookfield had also made a direct investment in Naver.

In response, Brookfield clarified, “We are not investing directly in Naver as a company, but are participating as a partner providing capital, power, and infrastructure capabilities to the Sovereign AI infrastructure business that Naver is building and operating.”

A closer look at the investment structure reveals a clear division of roles among the three companies. Naver provides operational expertise based on its Sejong data center, while NVIDIA strengthens its strategic alliance through a direct equity investment. Brookfield is responsible for providing the capital and solutions for building the power and energy infrastructure necessary for large-scale data center expansion.

Brookfield is expected to continue its trend of expanding AI infrastructure investments in South Korea. Sikander Rashid, Brookfield’s Global Head of AI Infrastructure, explained, “Access to reliable and scalable sovereign AI infrastructure is becoming an increasingly important strategic priority for both companies and nations.”