[Edaily Reporter Kim Hyun-ah ] #SK Group is significantly expanding its AI infrastructure cooperation with global Big Tech companies such as NVIDIA, Microsoft (MS), Anthropic, and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The plan is to accelerate the strengthening of the nation’s AI competitiveness by launching collaborations totaling more than $500 billion (approximately 690 trillion won), focusing on the construction of AI factories, the supply of AI memory, and the development of AI data centers.

On the 24th (local time), at the “K-AI Summit” held in San Francisco, SK announced a series of collaboration plans with global tech giants in the fields of AI semiconductors, AI data centers, and AI memory.

This collaboration is a follow-up measure aimed at enhancing the execution of SK’s “Three Major Mega Projects”—including the nationwide construction of AI data centers and the creation of an AI semiconductor belt—which the company announced last June.

Building $500 Billion AI Infrastructure with NVIDIA

SK Group has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI)

with NVIDIA

to pursue AI infrastructure cooperation

worth

over

$500 billion

, covering everything from the construction of AI factories to the supply of AI memory.

SKTelecom will build South Korea’s largest AI factory, with a capacity of up to 2 gigawatts (GW), based on NVIDIA’s AI factory platform “DSX.” The company plans to deploy the “Vera Rubin” system—equipped with next-generation GPUs and SK hynix’s HBM4—and begin operations sequentially starting in 2027.

Through this partnership, the two companies aim to build a massive AI computing infrastructure capable of supporting sovereign AI, agentic AI, physical AI, and enterprise AI services, and to jointly address AI demand in the Asia-Pacific region.

SK hynix will also pursue long-term supply and joint development of next-generation AI memory, including HBM, with NVIDIA.

Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, stated, “South Korea is an AI powerhouse equipped with networks, data centers, and semiconductor technology,” adding, “We will build South Korea’s next-generation AI factory together with SKTelecom and SK hynix.”

SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won remarked, “Competitiveness in the AI era depends on how much intelligence we can produce,” adding, “Together with NVIDIA, we will build a world-class AI factory to help South Korea leap forward from being an AI consumer nation to an AI innovation hub.”

Collaboration with Microsoft on AI Memory, and with Anthropic and AWS on Data Centers

SK hynix is also entering into a long-term partnership

with Microsoft

to supply memory for AI servers. The two companies plan to supply memory optimized for AI workloads to Microsoft’s

data centers

and jointly develop and validate next-generation AI memory solutions.

SKTelecom has signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Anthropic to build a GW-class AI data center in South Korea. The two companies are expanding their collaboration—which began with a strategic investment in 2023—into the AI infrastructure sector.

The company is also broadening its scope of cooperation with AWS, building on its experience in constructing the Ulsan AI data center. By combining SKTelecom’s data center construction and operation capabilities with AWS’s cloud technology, the companies plan to expand AI infrastructure across key domestic hubs and secure GW-class AI computing capacity in the long term.

Chairman Choi Tae-won also met with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, on the same day to discuss long-term collaboration plans in the fields of AI infrastructure and memory.

Choi Tae-won: “We Must Build an ‘AI-Native Nation’”

At the K-AI Summit, Chairman Choi emphasized, “The three major mega-projects are AI initiatives designed to drive South Korea’s growth,” adding that they represent “a realistic investment plan that reflects actual demand in the global AI market.”

He identified the following as key tasks for the projects’ success: ▲ Realizing an “AI-native nation” where all citizens utilize AI agents; ▲ Reducing token costs by expanding memory production and AI data centers; and ▲ Minimizing the adverse effects of AI through the establishment of AI governance and job creation.

Chairman Choi noted, “AI is still in its early stages,” adding, “South Korea must grow into a global AI infrastructure hub connecting the United States, Europe, and Asia, based on an expanded memory production capacity and AI data centers.”