NVIDIA invests in Point2 and will back three more Korean AI stakes

NVIDIA and the science ministry of South Korea held a forum for more than 20 Korean startups in AI models, robots, infrastructure and chips. NVIDIA invested in Point2, which makes radio links that move data between chips and racks in AI centers. It will also invest in three more startups, but it gave no amounts or dates.

What is new

The four startups include the full AI stack, from infrastructure to models to robots:

• Point2: radio links between chips and racks, an alternative to copper and optical links.
• Motif Technologies: a Seoul AI lab that makes models for agents, with open weights.
• RLWRLD: robot models for tasks of dexterity.
• Upstage: Solar language models and tools that read documents.

The proof

There are no amounts, dates or test results. The one count is more than 1,000 members in Korea of NVIDIA Inception, a program that gives startups lower prices, expert help and investor introductions.

What is not known

The amount of each investment is not known. Only the Point2 investment is done. The other three are not done.

Insight: NVIDIA backs Korean companies at each layer of the AI stack

NVIDIA backs a maker of links, a model lab, a robot company and a document AI company. It also works with the Korean ministry on sovereign AI, which is AI that the country controls. This reads as small stakes in each layer of the AI stack, and Korean developers can start to use NVIDIA tools. Point2 is an alternative to copper and optical links, and NVIDIA possibly wants a stake there too.