Amazon AWS confirms cooperation with SK Group to build an AI data center in South Korea

According to Zhitong Finance APP, Amazon (AMZN.US) has announced that its cloud services division, AWS, has reached an expanded cooperation agreement with South Korea's SK Group. Under this agreement, the cloud computing giant will build a 100-megawatt (MW) data center in South Korea. As part of the agreement, a new AWS artificial intelligence zone will be established in Ulsan, expected to launch in 2027, with SK Group planning to expand its capacity to strive to become a data center hub in the Asia-Pacific region. The data center will be built on a 36,000 square meter site in the Huangchengdong area of Ulsan's Nam-gu, with the first phase expected to launch approximately 40 megawatts of facilities by November 2027, and the entire project to be completed by February 2029, reaching a total scale of 103 megawatts. The AI infrastructure equipped with 100-megawatt-level graphics processing units (GPUs) is a domestic first, with about 60,000 GPUs to be deployed. Amazon also stated that the expansion of the data center is expected to create up to 78,000 direct and indirect jobs. This move is another initiative beyond AWS's plan to invest $5.88 billion in South Korea by 2027. AWS executive Prasad Kalyanaraman stated in a statement: "When SK Group's exceptional technological capabilities are combined with AWS's comprehensive artificial intelligence cloud services, we will provide robust support for businesses of all sizes and customers across all industries in South Korea, helping them build and innovate using secure and reliable AI technology. This collaboration reflects our commitment to the future of artificial intelligence in South Korea, and I am incredibly excited about the results we will achieve together." SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won stated: "We are pleased to combine SK Group's technological strength with AWS, a global leading cloud service provider, to build core infrastructure for South Korea's artificial intelligence ecosystem and create a powerful new engine for the 'AI highway.' In the future, SK will continue to leverage the unique strengths of our subsidiaries and our global partnerships to establish an artificial intelligence data center hub in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC)."