[Edaily Reporter Lee So-Hyun ] Lee Hae-jin, Chairman of Naver (NAVER(035420)), met with Bruce Flatt, Chairman of Brookfield Corporation, to hold follow-up discussions on the project to build a 1GW-class artificial intelligence (AI) factory. This signifies that the global AI infrastructure project being pursued by Naver, NVIDIA, and Brookfield is entering its full-scale implementation phase.

Naver announced on the 4th that Chairman Lee and Chairman Flat met on the 3rd at Naver’s second headquarters, 1784, in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to discuss the AI Factory construction project. Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon and Park Jun-woo, CEO of Brookfield Korea, also attended the meeting.

Chairman Lee expressed his gratitude to Brookfield for supporting Naver’s vision for the AI Factory project through its bold investment decision. He went on to express his hope that by combining Brookfield’s expertise in infrastructure investment with Naver’s AI technology, the two companies would lead the global AI infrastructure market.

Chairman Flat expressed his gratitude for selecting Brookfield as a capital partner for the AI Factory construction project. He stated that Brookfield would not merely act as a capital investor but would serve as a partner providing practical assistance across the entire business, including the efficient procurement of equipment and infrastructure and attracting customers.

Brookfield is a global alternative asset manager with over $1 trillion in assets under management worldwide. It has agreed to invest up to $9 billion in the 200 MW project—the first phase of the 1 GW AI factory construction project being undertaken by Naver and NVIDIA.

Starting with this first-phase financing, Brookfield plans to continue its partnership with Naver in future phases. Naver intends to expand its AI infrastructure business by combining Brookfield’s global infrastructure investment capabilities with its own AI technology.

Chairman Flat and CEO Park also toured Naver 1784 that day. 1784 is a testbed-style corporate headquarters that incorporates Naver’s robotics, cloud, AI, and digital twin technologies.

Meanwhile, Naver is also preparing to establish a new subsidiary dedicated to its AI infrastructure business. The construction of the 1GW-class AI factory will proceed in phases: of the 200MW in Phase 1, 55MW is scheduled to go online in the first half of 2027, 100MW by the end of 2027, with the entire Phase 1 construction set to be completed in 2028. Brookfield has agreed to continue the partnership beyond the first phase of financing into future phases, and the collaboration between the two companies is expected to expand beyond short-term investment execution into medium- to long-term AI infrastructure projects.