South Korea Discrete GPU - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2026-2031)

The south korea discrete GPU market size is projected to be USD 5.04 billion in 2025, USD 5.80 billion in 2026, and reach USD 13.46 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 18.33% from 2026 to 2031. This report is Segmented by Device Application (Mobile Devices and Tablets, Pcs and Workstations, Servers and Datacenter Accelerators, and More), Memory Type (GDDR-Based GPUs and HBM-Based GPUs), and Performance Tier (Low-Cost GPUs, Mainstream GPUs, High-Performance Consumer GPUs, and More). The Market Forecasts are Provided in Terms of Value (USD).

South Korea Discrete GPU Market Trends and Insights

Surge in AI and HPC Workloads Requiring High-Performance GPUs

Government and enterprise commitments are reshaping procurement behavior, with 13,000 Nvidia Blackwell B200 units already distributed in 2025 and a target of 50,000 GPUs by 2028. Kakao installed 2,040 B200 GPUs across 255 nodes, enabling public beta access in January 2026. Samsung and SK Group are each designing AI factories with more than 50,000 GPUs to automate chip manufacturing and semiconductor R&D. Krafton’s 1,000-unit Blackwell Ultra cluster, equipped with XDR-800G InfiniBand, illustrates private-sector enthusiasm for large language models. These multi-tenant farms use Kubernetes and Slurm to maximize utilization and shift the South Korean discrete GPU market toward hyperscale consumption.

Growing Popularity of PC Gaming and Esports in South Korea

NVIDIA launched its RTX 5060 family, priced between USD 299 and USD 429, catering to gamers eager for high refresh rates in titles like Valorant. In its most recent reporting year, the domestic PC gaming sector generated KRW 5.8 trillion (approximately USD 4.4 billion). Meanwhile, as esports activities grow, cafes are upgrading their rigs with ray-tracing GPUs. Additionally, studios such as Krafton are harnessing GPU clusters to accelerate AI-driven content creation, underscoring the growing synergy between gaming and AI infrastructure demands.

Global Supply-Demand Imbalance in Advanced Node Foundry Capacity

TSMC has fully booked its 3 nm lines through 2027. Meanwhile, Samsung's 2 nm process is only achieving a 70% yield. This has led board partners to secure wafer allocations 18 months in advance, often at the cost of margin-eroding premiums. Samsung has successfully secured the order for xAI's Grok3 chip. However, with a yield gap of 10 to 15 points compared to TSMC, concerns about supply risks loom large. If Chinese demand rebounds, it could reroute high-end wafers from Korean distributors. This shift might result in spot-price surges and prolonged lead times in the discrete GPU market.

Other drivers and restraints analyzed in the detailed report include:

• Rapid Expansion of Cloud Gaming Services
• Government Incentives for Domestic Semiconductor Design Start-Ups Targeting GPU IP
• Intensifying Price Competition from Integrated Graphics in Entry-Level Systems

For complete list of drivers and restraints, kindly check the Table Of Contents.

Segment Analysis

Servers and datacenter accelerators controlled 39.84% of the discrete GPU market share in 2025. Government orders for 13,000 Blackwell B200 units and enterprise clusters like Krafton’s 1,000-GPU farm underscore a pivot from pilot to production environments. PCs and workstations remain substantial, yet integrated graphics erode entry-level demand, concentrating discrete upgrades among esports enthusiasts and creators. Handheld gaming consoles contribute modest volumes, while automotive and ADAS deployments emerge as premium growth areas, driven by Hyundai’s 50,000-unit commitment to Level 4 robotaxis.

Datacenter momentum rests on economics: SK Telecom’s GPUaaS racks deliver 44 kW of density, shaving idle capacity and monetizing mixed AI and HPC workloads. Naver Cloud’s prospective 60,000-GPU footprint offers data-sovereign infrastructure that attracts multinational tenants. These deployments expand the discrete GPU market for ancillary products such as HBM, immersion cooling, and 800G networking.

Complete Report Scope:

• By Device Application
  • Mobile Devices and Tablets
  • PCs and Workstations
  • Servers and Datacenter Accelerators
  • Gaming Consoles and Handhelds
  • Automotive / ADAS
  • Other Embedded and Edge Devices
• By Memory Type
  • GDDR-Based GPUs
  • HBM-Based GPUs
• By Performance Tier
  • Low-Cost GPUs (Less than USD 100)
  • Mainstream GPUs (USD 100-USD 400)
  • High-Performance Consumer GPUs (USD 400-USD 1,200)
  • Data Center / AI Accelerator GPUs (Greater than USD 1,200)

List of Companies Covered in this Report:

• Nvidia Corporation
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
• Intel Corporation
• Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• SK Hynix Inc.
• AsusTek Computer Inc.
• Micro-Star International Co. Ltd.
• Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd.
• Sapphire Technology Limited
• PowerColor (TUL Corporation)
• Zotac Technology Ltd.
• Palit Microsystems Ltd.
• GalaxY Microsystems Ltd.
• PNY Technologies Inc.
• Colorful Technology Co. Ltd.
• EVGA Corporation
• Leadtek Research Inc.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support