SK AI Summit 2025
Building an AI Data Center in Vietnam
Securing Bases in Malaysia and Singapore
Collaborating with NVIDIA and AWS on Edge AI
[Seoul Economy] SK Telecom is set to advance into the global artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure market. The company plans to build cutting-edge data centers in Southeast Asia, which has emerged as a global AI hub, to expand its infrastructure business—a crucial competitive edge in the AI era—beyond South Korea.
Chang Jae-heon, CEO of SK Telecom, spoke at the SK AI Summit 2025 held at COEX in Seoul, explaining the company’s strategy to enter the overseas AI data center market. He mentioned that SK Telecom is currently working on building an AI data center in Vietnam with SK Innovation, utilizing energy and IT technologies. He also stated plans to establish AI data centers in Malaysia and Singapore, aiming to develop eco-friendly and high-efficiency solutions by using the LNG power plant cooling technology from SK Innovation.
Southeast Asia is becoming a global AI data center hub due to the presence of major tech companies like Google and Microsoft, a large population of 670 million, and relatively low costs for land, water, and electricity. SK Telecom sees this region as a key target for its overseas expansion efforts. Chang emphasized strengthening SK Telecom’s domestic business foundation in preparation for overseas expansion, and announced that the Ulsan AI data center, built in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), will be expanded from its current 100MW capacity to a long-term target of 1GW, aiming to become Asia’s leading AI data center developer.
SK Telecom has recently announced plans to build dedicated AI data centers with OpenAI in the southwest region and a large-scale facility in Seoul’s Guro District, focusing on the infrastructure business. Chang, who was officially appointed on October 30, highlighted this business vision as a priority. The company also plans to lead the ‘Edge AI’ business, including AI base stations, developed in collaboration with companies like NVIDIA and Samsung Electronics.
Edge AI, unlike large-scale data centers serving as central servers, enables immediate data processing near users through small-scale AI data centers or communication base stations. It is gaining attention as essential infrastructure for next-generation AI services like autonomous vehicles. Chang stated that SK Telecom will establish long-term cooperation with AWS for Edge AI R&D, aiming to enhance the combined technological capabilities of both companies.
SK Telecom will focus on three main AI business areas, including applications and data center solutions. In the application field, it will work with NVIDIA to develop a manufacturing-focused AI called ‘Manufacturing AI Cloud’ for SK Hynix’s semiconductor factories, as well as robotic foundation models applicable to factories.