SK Telecom: first AI factory planned to come online in 2027
SK Group and NVIDIA are advancing Korea’s AI infrastructure with the development of an AI factory featuring over 50,000 NVIDIA GPUs, with the first phase completed by late 2027. This initiative is part of a broader collaboration between SK Group and NVIDIA to enhance semiconductor research, production, and cloud infrastructure, supporting digital twin and AI agent development.
The AI factory will serve SK subsidiaries such as SK hynix and SK Telecom (SKT), as well as external organizations through a GPU-as-a-service model, aiming to accelerate digital transformation and industrial innovation across Korea. SK hynix is leveraging NVIDIA CUDA-X technologies and the NVIDIA PhysicsNeMo framework to improve chip design and simulation efficiency. Additionally, the company is developing semiconductor fab digital twins using NVIDIA Omniverse libraries and RTX PRO Servers to optimize production processes.
SKT is also playing a key role in the initiative, launching an industrial cloud powered by NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell GPUs to support startups, enterprises, and government agencies in advancing robotics and digital twin technologies. The company plans to deploy over 2,000 of these GPUs initially, with the cloud infrastructure supporting SK hynix’s operations and internal AI agents.
The AI factory is expected to be one of Korea’s largest AI infrastructure projects and will be available to sovereign model developers participating in the Korea government’s Sovereign AI Foundation Models project. SKT is also contributing to the initiative by developing a foundation model called A.X., which will power AI agents to enhance productivity for over 40,000 employees.
This collaboration aligns with SK Group’s broader strategy to position Korea as a global AI hub, with plans to expand AI data center capacity nationwide and establish a 1GW-class AI infrastructure. The initiative reflects SK Group’s commitment to leveraging AI to drive industrial transformation and strengthen Korea’s competitive position in the global AI landscape.
