SK Group has agreed to approximately $750 billion worth of cooperation with global Big Tech companies including Nvidia, Microsoft (MS), Anthropic, and Amazon Web Services (AWS), spanning the entire spectrum of infrastructure from artificial intelligence (AI) chips to AI data centers, in Silicon Valley in the United States. Based on this, SK plans to strengthen the execution of its "Three Mega Projects," which center on establishing a domestic semiconductor belt and building nationwide AI data centers, and to lead the expansion of the global AI ecosystem.
SK signed a comprehensive letter of intent (LOI) with Nvidia to build AI infrastructure worth more than $500 billion in total at the "K-AI Summit" held at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, United States, on the 24th. First, SK Telecom (017670) will introduce Nvidia's next-generation graphics processing units (GPUs) and pursue investment cooperation to build an AI factory with a 2GW (gigawatt) scale, the largest in Korea. Based on Nvidia's "DSX" platform, it plans to introduce the next-generation AI computing system "Vera Rubin," equipped with SK hynix's (000660) HBM4, and build the AI factory in phases starting in 2027. Through this, the strategy is to accelerate the development of large-scale AI infrastructure encompassing sovereign, physical, and agentic AI as well as enterprise AI services, and to jointly respond to growing AI demand in Korea and across the Asia-Pacific region. SK hynix will also continue long-term cooperation with Nvidia, including the stable supply and joint development of AI memory such as next-generation HBM.
Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, said, "Korea has all the conditions to leap into a global AI powerhouse, including world-class networks and data centers, leadership in semiconductor technology, and a vast industrial base. Nvidia, together with SK Telecom and SK hynix, will build a new generation of AI factories that will lead Korea's next growth." Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, also said, "Competitiveness in the AI era depends not only on how well AI is utilized but on how much intelligence is created. Based on SK Telecom's AI infrastructure capabilities and SK hynix's AI memory, SK will build world-class AI factories together with Nvidia and contribute to Korea's leap beyond a country that consumes AI to a global hub that creates AI innovation."
SK hynix also agreed with MS on a long-term memory supply plan. The two companies decided to cooperate so that SK hynix will supply server memory optimized for AI workloads to MS data centers over the medium to long term, in response to surging demand for AI services. They also plan to jointly discover memory solutions tailored to these needs and, through verification in actual server environments, establish a new standard for AI server memory.
SK Telecom signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Anthropic for cooperation on building GW-class AI data centers in Korea, and also decided to combine domestic AI data center construction and operation capabilities with AWS to expand the business into a major hub.
Meanwhile, in a speech at the K-AI Summit, which was attended by President Lee Jae-myung and representatives of global Big Tech companies, Chairman Chey praised the "Three Mega Projects," the government's recently announced national strategic industry and infrastructure initiative centered on advanced technology, as "a realistic plan based on actual demand in the global AI market." He then presented three tasks for the success of the project: realizing an "AI native nation" in which each citizen uses at least one AI agent and Korea becomes a global AI testbed; reducing token costs through memory production and expansion of AI data centers; and minimizing the side effects of AI, including establishing AI governance, creating jobs, and preserving the environment. Chairman Chey said, "The Three Mega Projects are an AI project for the growth of Korea and a project for all of us. We must gather our capabilities in as short a time as possible and make it a success without fail."
