SK Hyper seeks partners for $350B first phase of 15GW AI data center plan
The SK Telecom subsidiary aims to close its first outside investment by late 2026 or early 2027 and shift part of the cost onto tenants and investors.
SK Hyper, the AI data center subsidiary of SK Telecom, has begun talks with potential strategic and financial partners to fund a 15GW AI data center buildout in South Korea by 2035, with the first 5GW phase estimated at USD 350 billion including servers and equipment. The company's chief executive, Jung Seok-geun, disclosed the fundraising plans in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
Jung said SK Hyper aims to secure its first outside investment by the end of 2026 or early 2027, then raise further funds over the following three to four years. Costs are to be shared by tenant companies and external investors rather than carried by SK alone, and the pace of investment will be adjusted to actual customer demand to manage risk.
The first 5GW phase is scheduled to come online starting in 2029, expanding to 15GW by 2035 depending on global demand. SK Hyper is also targeting overseas customers in Japan, Taiwan and other Asian markets, aiming to bring global AI training and inference workloads to Korea.
Ulsan, Yeongnam and beyond
The company is pursuing a 900MW data center project in Ulsan and a 100MW project in cooperation with Amazon Web Services. It also plans a 2GW-plus data center cluster in the Yeongnam region along with GW-scale sites in Chungcheong and the southwest.
Jung said he expects revenue to begin as early as 2027, without disclosing specific business lines or revenue figures. SK Hyper is additionally considering offering combined AI computing infrastructure and AI models to governments in Asia and the Middle East.
SK Telecom established SK Hyper in July 2026 as a subsidiary for AI data center business development, and plans to invest up to 750 billion won in stages by 2030 for land purchases and substation construction. Over the past 20 or so years, about 1GW of data center capacity has been built in Korea.
Quick answers
How much will the first phase of SK Hyper's AI data center cost?
The first 5GW phase is estimated at USD 350 billion, including servers and equipment.
When will the first phase come online?
The first 5GW phase is scheduled to come online starting in 2029, with expansion to 15GW by 2035 depending on global demand.
When does SK Hyper expect to secure its first outside investor?
SK Hyper aims to secure its first outside investment by the end of 2026 or early 2027.