[Edaily Reporter Lee So-Hyun ] Naver (NAVER(035420)) has begun expanding its AI business cooperation by holding a series of meetings with the Mexican government and local IT companies. This marks the first time Naver executives have personally visited Mexico to explore the market; they sought opportunities to participate in building the local AI ecosystem by highlighting Public AX, Sovereign AI, AI infrastructure, and digital twins.

Naver announced on the 29th that CEO Choi Soo-yeon, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Kim Hee-cheol, and Chief Data Officer (CDO) Kim Kwang-hyun visited Mexico as part of the presidential economic delegation for two days starting on the 24th (local time) to discuss cooperation plans with government officials and representatives from major IT companies.

The delegation held consecutive meetings with Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, Mexico’s Minister of Economy; Rosaura Ruiz Gutierrez, Minister of Science, Humanities, Technology, and Innovation (SECIHTI); the Agency for Digital Transformation and Telecommunications (ATDT); and the CEO of Softtek Mexico, among others.

Proposing Cooperation Centered on Public AX and Sovereign AI

CEO Choi introduced Naver’s capabilities in Public AI Transformation (AX), its Sovereign AI strategy, and the AI Factory project currently being developed in partnership with NVIDIA and Brookfield to Mexican government officials.

Based on this, he proposed collaboration to drive the AX transformation in Mexico’s public sector and expand the use of AI across all industries.

According to Naver, Economy Minister Ebrard explained that the Mexican government has recently been expanding exchanges with global AI companies, such as NVIDIA, to foster its domestic AI industry, and expressed hope that Naver would contribute to building the local AI ecosystem and driving digital innovation.

CEO Choi also met with Science, Humanities, Technology, and Innovation Minister Luis to discuss cooperation regarding the construction of a national-level high-performance computing (HPC) and AI cluster that Mexico is currently pursuing.

Discussions on Digital Twin Pilot Projects in Two Cities in Querétaro

The company is also pursuing cooperation linked to local infrastructure projects. Taking this visit as an opportunity, Naver has begun exploring new business opportunities in the state of Querétaro, where Mexico’s data centers are concentrated.

Currently, the company is discussing specific implementation plans for a digital twin pilot project targeting two major cities in Querétaro State.

CDO Kim Kwang-hyun also delivered a presentation to leading business executives from both countries at the Korea-Mexico Business Forum held on the 25th.

CDO Kim emphasized the importance of building an AI ecosystem that reflects a country’s language, data, and industrial characteristics, and presented a vision to connect South Korea’s AI capabilities and experience—including those of Naver—to support Mexico’s AI transformation as a manufacturing hub in North and Central America.

This marks the first time Naver executives have visited Mexico to meet with government and corporate officials.

Previously, in August, CEO Choi met with executives from Brazilian AI infrastructure companies Scala Data Center and Tecto Data Center, as well as executives from Entel, Chile’s largest telecommunications company, to discuss potential collaborations.

Following its expansion into South America, Naver plans to broaden its reach to Mexico and explore business opportunities in Central and South America, focusing on AI infrastructure, public AX, and digital twins.