SK Telecom has laid out plans to build 15 gigawatts of AI data center capacity by 2035. The South Korean telecom giant is teaming up with Nvidia to develop gigawatt-scale infrastructure for artificial intelligence workloads.
The scale of the project
Fifteen gigawatts is a massive number. For context, that's roughly the output of a dozen large nuclear reactors running flat out. Most current data centers operate in the tens or low hundreds of megawatts. SK Telecom's target signals a bet that AI computing demand will keep exploding for the next decade.
The company hasn't disclosed a specific dollar figure for the investment, nor has it broken down how much capacity will be built each year. But the partnership with Nvidia suggests the facilities will be designed around the chipmaker's high-end GPUs, which are the workhorses behind large language models and other AI systems.
Nvidia's role
Nvidia won't just supply chips. The two companies are working together on the overall data center infrastructure — cooling, power distribution, networking — to handle the extreme density and heat that next-generation AI hardware demands. SK Telecom brings its experience running telecom networks and managing large-scale IT operations.
Neither side has announced a specific first site or groundbreaking date. The 2035 deadline gives them over a decade to execute, but the race for AI capacity is already heating up. Hyperscalers like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are also pouring billions into new data centers.
Why SK Telecom is moving now
SK Telecom isn't just a phone carrier. It has been pivoting toward AI and data center services for several years. The company sees a gap in the market for dedicated AI infrastructure that isn't tied to any one cloud provider. By partnering with Nvidia, it can offer a full-stack solution to enterprises that want to train or run AI models without building their own facilities.
The 15GW target is also a statement of ambition. South Korea has been pushing to become a regional AI hub, and SK Telecom is the country's largest telecom operator. If it hits that capacity, it would rank among the world's biggest data center operators by power consumption.
SK Telecom will need to secure land, power, and regulatory approvals for what would be some of the largest data centers ever built. It hasn't said whether the 15GW will be spread across one or multiple sites, or whether it will include colocation space for third parties. The company is expected to provide more details in its upcoming quarterly earnings call.
