SK Telecom has announced that it will unveil its plan to build an 'AI Infrastructure Super Highway' at the 'SK AI Summit 2024' and lead powerful changes based on AI infrastructure. SKT plans to build AI infrastructure nationwide centered on three axes: AI Data Center, GPU Cloud Service (GPUaaS), and Edge AI, and based on this, to enter the global market with domestic and foreign partners.
First, SKT plans to start with a hyper-scale AI DC (data center) requiring more than 100MW (megawatts) of power in a domestic regional base, and expand its scale to GW (gigawatts) or more in the future to become an 'AI DC hub' in the Asia-Pacific region. Establishing AI DCs in regional hubs will allow for the use of local renewable energy sources such as hydrogen, solar energy, and wind power, and will also facilitate global expansion through submarine cables. SKT explained that by combining SK's high-efficiency next-generation semiconductors, energy solutions such as liquid immersion cooling, and AI cluster operation capabilities, it will be possible to build an efficient AI DC at a lower cost.
Prior to this, SKT plans to open an AI DC testbed in Pangyo in December, which will combine SK Group’s capabilities and various solutions from its partners. This will be the site of cutting-edge AI semiconductors such as the latest NVIDIA chips and Hynix HBM, as well as three next-generation liquid cooling solutions. As the only testbed in Korea where GPU virtualization solutions and AI energy optimization technologies are all implemented, you can get a sneak peek at the future AI DC.
SKT emphasized that in the mid- to long-term, it expects to attract new investments worth over 50 trillion won, create over 550,000 jobs, have an economic effect of over 175 trillion won, and foster advanced AI industries in the region through the GW-level AI DC.
Second, SKT plans to launch GPUaaS (GPU as a Service), which provides GPUs in the cloud by converting the Gasan Data Center located in the metropolitan area into an AI DC to quickly resolve the domestic GPU supply shortage. SKT plans to invest a total of 100 billion won starting in 2025 to implement a 'Korean-style sovereign AI' that combines Rebellion's NPU (Neural Processing Unit), SK Hynix's HBM, and various AI DC solutions owned by SK Telecom and its partners.
Yoo Young-sang, CEO, SK Telecom
Until now, communications infrastructure has been a competition of connectivity, that is, a battle of speed and capacity, but now the paradigm of network evolution must change. In the future, 6G will evolve into a next-generation AI infrastructure that fuses communications and AI. SK Telecom is building an AI infrastructure superhighway under the mission of Korea’s AI G3 leap. Let’s join forces so that the government, local governments, and companies can create a new future together.