Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivers a speech during the COMPUTEX 2026 exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday. AP-Yonhap

Shares of Korea's major robotics business operators are sharply increasing, driven by mounting anticipation over Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's planned Seoul visit and his repeated signals of interest in deepening collaboration with the local robotics players.

On Monday, the Nvidia chief expressed optimism for possible investment in Korea’s robotics sector during the Korea Partner Night event at GTC Taipei 2026.

The remarks have resonated strongly with investors ahead of his scheduled visit to Seoul, slated for Thursday. His well-documented enthusiasm for physical artificial intelligence (AI) — the integration of machine intelligence and real-world robotic systems — has also helped frame Korean industrial heavyweights as potential frontline beneficiaries of the next wave of AI-driven automation.

Large-cap robotics stocks, such as LG Electronics, Hyundai Motor and Doosan Robotics, are also on a sharp rally on the growing expectation of the robotics industry.

LG Electronics is the standout performer, with its shares soaring more than 300 percent this year. The stock closed at 392,500 won on Tuesday, the last trading day before the local election holiday, up from 91,400 won on the first trading day of the year.

The company is accelerating its push into robotics through its logistics robot — CLOi CarryBot — and recently shared its plan to develop a physical AI model based on Nvidia’s GR00T humanoid reasoning platform.

Hyundai Motor Group is another key beneficiary of the booming robotics industry. Shares of Hyundai Motor rose by more than 140 percent during the same period, with that of Kia increasing around 40 percent, buoyed by increasing investors’ attention on the Atlas humanoid robot.

The carmaker plans to deploy the robots — developed by its robotics subsidiary Boston Dynamics — into its major manufacturing facilities here and abroad.

Madison Huang, left, senior director of product marketing at Nvidia, speaks with Doosan Robotics CEO Kim Min-pyo, right, at Doosan Robotics Innovation Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, April 29, 2025. Courtesy of Doosan Robotics

Source: Korea Times News