[Edaily SOYEON KIM Reporter Song Jae-min] LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo’s artificial intelligence (AI) “One LG” strategy is taking shape. By consolidating the manufacturing, battery, automotive electronics, robotics, and IT capabilities accumulated by its major affiliates, the group is expanding its business into AI data centers and physical AI. The plan is to leverage the cooperative relationships Chairman Koo personally forged by meeting with Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, and Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft (MS), to transform the group’s capabilities into new growth engines for the AI era.

◇ Collaboration with Microsoft… Accelerating AX Across LG Corp.

According to LG Corp. on the 22nd, Chairman Koo Kwang-mo held a Top Management Meeting (TMM) with Microsoft (MS) Chairman Satya Nadella at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on the 21st (local time), where they agreed to expand their strategic partnership. This marked the first official meeting between the two executives.

LG Corp. will collaborate with Microsoft on a wide range of initiatives, spanning AI data center infrastructure, company-wide business innovation, and physical AI. The plan is to combine LG Corp.’s cooling, power, and IT capabilities with Microsoft’s AI and cloud technologies to expand business opportunities and accelerate the AI transformation (AX) across the entire group.

The two companies agreed to expand their collaboration in the areas of △AI data center infrastructure, △AI transformation, and △physical AI. Regarding the AI data center business, the plan is to formalize LG Corp.’s supply of cooling, power, and IT infrastructure solutions. LGELECTRONICS offers a full range of data center thermal management products, including chillers, cooling water distribution units (CDUs), and air conditioning systems. By integrating these with LG Energy Solution’s energy storage systems (ESS) and LG CNS’s capabilities in data center design, construction, and operation, the companies can provide an integrated solution covering everything from cooling to power and IT infrastructure.

LG Corp. will also transform its internal work processes based on Microsoft’s AI and cloud technologies. The goal is not merely to deploy generative AI tools but to redefine how employees work using AI, thereby transitioning into an AI-native company. The companies are also expanding their collaboration in the field of “Physical AI,” which involves integrating AI into real-world industrial settings such as manufacturing, logistics, and mobility. LG Corp. plans to leverage Microsoft’s high-performance cloud infrastructure to accelerate the development and training of AI models that operate in physical environments.

◇ A Crucial Test for the “One LG Corp.” Strategy… Sustaining Manufacturing Competitiveness Through AI

LG Corp.’s AI alliance with NVIDIA has also borne fruit. LGELECTRONICS and LG Energy Solution have each been selected as partners for NVIDIA’s “DSX Ready” program, joining the NVIDIA ecosystem. LGELECTRONICS’ cooling solutions for servers have been certified as “DSX Ready CDU,” while LG Energy Solution has been selected as a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) partner to ensure a stable power supply.

Joining the DSX Ready program signifies that LG Corp. has met the power and cooling requirements for NVIDIA’s AI Factory. This has effectively laid the groundwork for securing global customers and significantly expanding order intake.

Chairman Koo visited NVIDIA’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California, last month to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with CEO Huang. At the time, Chairman Koo stated, “As our collaboration gains momentum, the areas where we will work together—such as AI factories, physical AI, and mobility—have become clear,” and concrete results have emerged just over a month later.

LG Corp. has agreed with NVIDIA to go beyond technology exchange and solution provision to identify collaborative projects and pursue commercialization across future industries such as robotics, AI factories, and mobility. The company plans to unveil a bipedal humanoid robot based on NVIDIA’s Isaac GR00T in the first quarter of next year.

In particular, the humanoid robot project with NVIDIA will bring together the core capabilities of LG Group affiliates, including LGELECTRONICS’ robotics technology, LG Innotek’s sensors, and LG Energy Solution’s batteries. In the AI data center sector as well, the companies will provide integrated solutions by combining LGELECTRONICS’ cooling solutions, LG Energy Solution’s batteries, and the design and operational capabilities of LG CNS and LG Uplus.

LG Corp. is expanding its collaboration with global big tech companies such as NVIDIA and Microsoft not only to apply AI technology to its existing businesses but also to consolidate the capabilities accumulated by each affiliate into a single entity to create new AI business opportunities. In particular, the company plans to transform the data and on-site experience accumulated over decades in the manufacturing sector into a new competitive advantage through “Physical AI.” The strategy involves establishing a virtuous cycle in which data generated on the manufacturing floor is used to train AI, and the trained AI is then deployed back into the field, thereby increasing the utilization of AI in actual industrial settings such as manufacturing, logistics, and robotics.

A business sector official stated, “It is crucial whether the ‘One LG Corp.’ strategy can translate into actual sales and business results,” adding, “Linking collaborations with Big Tech to business opportunities across all affiliates will be Chairman Won’s key challenge.”