South Korea’s tech powerhouse Naver is teaming up with Nvidia, Nexus Core Systems, and Lloyd Capital to launch a massive AI data centre project in Morocco, with the first phase set to break ground in Q4 2025.
The goal is to deliver sovereign AI infrastructure to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa—regions increasingly demanding secure, locally controlled data solutions.
The announcement, made on Friday, marks a bold move by Naver Cloud to enter the competitive global cloud market dominated by U.S. giants like Amazon and Microsoft.
Morocco’s location, just 15 km from Europe and well-connected by undersea fibre-optic cables, makes it a strategic gateway to the EMEA region.
Sovereign AI data centre in Morocco to support EMEA cloud needs
The consortium aims to develop a renewable energy-powered AI data centre with a total capacity of 500 megawatts (MW). The first phase will involve a 40MW AI supercomputing facility using Nvidia’s latest GB200 (Blackwell) GPUs, to be completed by the end of 2025.
Unlike traditional setups, this facility will operate under a “Sovereign AI” framework, ensuring that data storage, processing, and operations occur entirely within Morocco.
This model aligns with growing data protection regulations, especially in Europe, where the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) restricts non-EU data access.
By setting up operations in Morocco, Naver Cloud positions itself as a reliable alternative to U.S. providers, who face limitations due to the U.S. Cloud Act, which allows government access to foreign-held data on American servers.
Strategic location, renewable energy, and strong partners power the vision
Naver’s partners bring crucial assets to the table. Nexus Core Systems offers deep expertise in AI infrastructure, while Lloyd Capital provides financing support.
To ensure sustainable energy, the consortium has signed a renewable energy supply agreement with TAQA, a leading Moroccan utility provider.
Morocco’s low electricity costs and expanding green energy sector made it an ideal choice. Its close proximity to Europe, combined with advanced submarine cable connections, allows for low-latency AI services, critical for enterprise and cloud applications.
Chae Seon-ju, head of Strategic Business at Naver, highlighted the importance of this expansion: “This cooperation will be a crucial turning point for NAVER’s cloud and AI technology to expand beyond Japan, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East to the European market.”
The centre will rival Naver’s GAK Sejong facility in South Korea, which has a capacity of 270MW. Once fully built, the Moroccan centre will nearly double that capacity, becoming one of the largest sovereign AI infrastructures globally.
Naver’s global AI strategy focuses on data sovereignty and regional relevance
The Moroccan project is part of Naver’s broader mission to provide region-specific AI solutions that respect local regulations and data governance. As European governments push back against foreign data control, companies offering localised, independent cloud infrastructure are gaining traction.
Naver offers comprehensive vertical integration, encompassing AI services, large language models, cloud platforms, and supercomputing infrastructure. This makes the company a strong candidate for handling complex, privacy-sensitive workloads in critical sectors such as healthcare, finance, and education.
As the digital economy grows across Africa and Europe, Naver’s sovereign AI data centre in Morocco is poised to meet rising demand for trustworthy, locally controlled AI services.
With construction set to kick off in late 2025 and expansion plans already underway, Naver is not just building a data centre—it’s building trust and independence in an AI-driven world.
