Business
AI: South Korean Company Naver to Build Next-Generation Data Center in Morocco
This 500-megawatt renewable energy-powered data center will serve as a sovereign AI computing hub for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. The project’s first phase is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year. Details.
South Korean tech giant Naver announced on Friday that it has formed a global consortium with NVIDIA, AI infrastructure specialist Nexus Core Systems, and international investment firm Lloyds Capital to establish a next-generation AI data center in Morocco.
The announcement was published on the official website of The Korea Herald, South Korea’s leading English-language daily newspaper.
According to Naver, the consortium aims to build a 500-megawatt renewable energy-powered data center that will serve as a sovereign AI computing hub for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.
Morocco’s strategic location—15 kilometers from Europe and directly connected via multiple subsea fiber-optic cables—played a key role in the site selection, the source added.
Naver Cloud, in collaboration with Nexus Core Systems and Lloyds Capital, will oversee the operation of the center’s platform.
The consortium plans to offer a fully integrated suite of AI services and applications, supported by advanced cloud infrastructure.
The center will utilize a sovereign cloud and AI architecture, ensuring all data storage, processing, and management remain entirely within the local jurisdiction.
The project’s first phase is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year. It includes the deployment of a 40-megawatt AI supercomputing infrastructure equipped with NVIDIA’s latest Blackwell GPUs, set for completion by year-end. The center will gradually expand to reach its full 500-megawatt capacity.
To support the initiative, the consortium has signed a strategic power purchase agreement with energy company TAQA, ensuring stable and sustainable renewable energy supply for the site.
‘This latest partnership marks a turning point for Naver as we expand our cloud and AI capabilities beyond Japan, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East to reach the European market,’ said Chae Sun-joo, head of the strategic business division at Naver.
