Svmuu News: South Korea’s SK Telecom (SKT) announced the establishment of “SK Hyper,” a new company dedicated to artificial intelligence data centers (AIDC), and plans to invest a total of 750 billion won to drive large-scale expansion of its AI data center business. The market believes this move is expected to strengthen the company’s competitiveness in AI infrastructure and generate new growth expectations for its stock price.
SK Telecom will initially invest 330 billion won and plans to invest a cumulative total of 750 billion won by December 2030, holding 100% of the new company’s shares. This organizational restructuring aims to accelerate the execution of SK Telecom’s medium- to long-term large-scale AI data center construction plan. The newly established SK Hyper will be responsible for the development and commercialization of future large-scale AI data center projects, including preliminary work such as site selection, securing power infrastructure, and commercial partnerships with clients.
In terms of business division, SK Telecom’s existing 137 MW of data center assets, as well as the 100 MW Ulsan AIDC project—which is expected to be fully operational by 2029—will continue to be operated by SK Broadband. Meanwhile, the new 900-MW Ulsan AIDC project, as well as the super data center projects aimed at securing a long-term capacity of 15 GW, will be led by SK Hyper.
SK Hyper will adopt a “development-led” business model rather than the traditional model of directly owning data center assets. The company will secure key resources such as land and power grids in advance and, through project special purpose companies (SPCs), will be responsible for the construction, ownership, and operation of the data centers.
This model is expected to reduce the financial pressure associated with large-scale capital investment. SK Hyper plans to secure external funding, such as equity investments from financial investors (FIs) and project financing (PF), to shift construction costs, capital expenditures, and depreciation pressures to the project companies, while generating revenue through development service fees and a share of operating profits.
Analysts note that while the market previously raised doubts about the feasibility of securing the hundreds of trillions of won needed for SK Telecom to build large-scale AIDCs exceeding 5 GW, the establishment of a dedicated legal entity now provides a more realistic path for expansion. Combined with the South Korean government’s support for power supply and approval processes, as well as the advantages of SK Hynix—a subsidiary of SK Group—in supplying memory chips, the pace of AIDC project development and its commercialization potential are expected to increase.
Shin Hee-cheol, an analyst at iM Securities, stated that the SK Hyper model—which focuses on early-stage development and utilizes external capital to complete construction and operations—can minimize SK Telecom’s financial burden while balancing the pace of AI data center expansion with profitability. (Ket)