SK Group’s data centre arm in talks to fund US$350 billion AI buildout
Published Fri, Oct 23, 2026 · 11:49 AM
SK HYPER is in talks with big tech firms and financial investors to secure funding for an envisioned US$350 billion data centre buildout, joining a global rush to roll out artificial intelligence infrastructure despite concerns about future demand.
The SK Group’s fledgling data centre arm has begun discussions with potential partners to help finance a plan to build 15 gigawatts (GW) of data centre capacity in South Korea by 2035, said Chung Suk-geun, SK Hyper’s chief executive officer.
The first 5 GW phase alone would require US$350 billion including equipment, he told Bloomberg Television.
The company aims to secure its first round of external capital by the end of 2026 or early 2027, followed by further fundraising over the next three to four years. SK plans to share the overall cost with data centre tenants and outside investors, he added.
“We are under discussions with many strategic and financial partners,” Chung said in an interview. “We want to be prepared for meeting the market demand by making data centres in Korea.”
SK is pursuing an ambitious blueprint at a time markets are gyrating on fears of an AI bubble. Investors funding data centre projects are getting nervous that spending on future AI services will not be enough to justify the trillions of dollars flowing into a global computing buildout.
Chung said his company would adjust the pace of investment according to actual demand, rather than commit to the entire plan upfront. “We are going to manage our risk appropriately, meeting with market demand,” he added.
Established in July as a unit of SK Telecom, SK Hyper is seeking to attract global technology companies to South Korea as a base for AI training and operations, serving Asian markets such as Japan and Taiwan rather than relying solely on domestic demand.
SK Group has plenty of affiliates – with expertise in chips, energy and telecommunications – that should help offset relatively high electricity costs by improving computing efficiency, Chung said. SK Telecom itself plans to invest 750 billion won (US$567 million) in SK Hyper by 2030.
SK Hyper is developing a 900 megawatt (MW) project in the southern industrial city of Ulsan, alongside a previously announced 100 MW project for Amazon Web Services. It is in talks with the government to secure additional sites, Chung said.
It is also exploring opportunities to serve governments in Asia and the Middle East, offering computing capacity and AI models as an integrated package. Chung said SK Hyper could begin generating revenue as early as 2027, ahead of the planned completion of its initial data centres in 2029. BLOOMBERG
