SK Telecom to invest US$200 mln in U.S. AI data center solution company

SK Telecom Co., a leading South Korean mobile carrier, said Tuesday it will invest US$200 million in Smart Global Holdings (SGH), a U.S. artificial intelligence data center solutions provider, marking the company's largest-ever investment in the booming AI sector. SK Telecom has signed a deal to acquire 200,000 preferred shares, or about a 10 percent stake in SGH, which will later be converted to ordinary shares, according to the company. Through the investment, the two companies will collaborate in the AI infrastructure business, including building and operating data centers. Founded in 1988, SGH is a leading designer and developer of AIDC solutions. Last year, it created a large-scale AI cluster for Meta Platforms Inc. It was listed on the Nasdaq composite in 2017 and reported annual revenue of $1.42 billion last year. SK Telecom said the investment is part of its efforts to enter the global AI data center market. The Korean company also plans to sign a further partnership agreement with SGH later th is year to deepen their collaboration in the AI infrastructure business, including AIDC, edge AI and future memory solutions. "Our investment in and cooperation with SGH will give us an opportunity to boost our position in the AI value chain," said SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang, vowing to make efforts to achieve global leadership in AI. The company has previously invested in U.S. AI firm Anthropic, the graphics processing unit cloud provider Lambda and AI search engine Perplexity since it announced its vision to become a global AI player last year. Source: Yonhap News Agency