SK Telecom Forms Infrastructure Alliance with Nvidia: Aiming to Become Asia's Leading AI Cloud Provider (Comprehensive)

Full-Stack AI Cloud Collaboration Based on DSX Platform

First 'AI Factory' to Launch in Korea Next Year, Expansion Planned Across Asia

"AI as a Driving Force for National Competitiveness... Responding to Rising Demand"

SK Telecom is joining forces with Nvidia to build a gigawatt (GW)-scale artificial intelligence (AI) factory. The goal is to establish an AI ecosystem and meet the rapidly growing demand for AI infrastructure.

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group (left) and Jensen Huang, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NVIDIA, are answering questions from the press on June 8 at SK Seorin Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, regarding infrastructure cooperation including the "AI Factory." Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Taewon Chey, Chairman of SK Group, stated during a media briefing held at the SK Seorin Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of June 8, 2026, alongside Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, "Until now, we have collaborated with Nvidia on SK hynix’s memory business, but now we are elevating our partnership to the entire SK Group." He added, "By expanding AI infrastructure, including the AI-specialized data center known as the AI Factory, we aim to respond more swiftly to AI demand."

On that day, SK Telecom announced plans to pursue a 'full-stack AI cloud' partnership with Nvidia, leveraging the Nvidia DSX platform to cover everything from chips to data center operations. DSX is Nvidia’s core platform that supports the design, construction, and optimization of the AI Factory.

The two companies plan to launch the first AI Factory in Korea next year, then gradually expand to GW-scale infrastructure, and ultimately extend their AI infrastructure across Asia. The AI Factory is an "intelligent factory" that continuously produces the core unit of AI known as "tokens," using both electricity and data as raw materials. It is a next-generation concept that surpasses conventional data centers limited to general-purpose computing and data storage.

SK Telecom will also participate in the 'Nvidia Cloud Partner' program. The collaboration aims to secure the lowest token cost and the highest performance per watt, which are key to the competitiveness of the AI infrastructure market. SK Telecom expects that its partnership with Nvidia will become the core foundation of its AI cloud business.

Through this partnership, SK Telecom will gain access to Nvidia's AI computing infrastructure and dedicated software, while Nvidia will benefit from SK hynix’s memory technology and SK Telecom’s expertise in building and operating AI Factories. Nvidia’s latest chip, Blackwell, as well as the next-generation chip Vera Rubin, scheduled for release in the second half of the year, will be adopted sequentially.

CEO Huang said, "It is certain that the future of AI is very bright," and added, "Just as the Internet became the infrastructure for the world, AI is expected to play the same role." However, he pointed out that the infrastructure build-out is still at an early stage, and that there is very little AI infrastructure in Korea at present.

He further explained, "As AI becomes the driving force of national competitiveness and industry-specific AI becomes necessary, the demand for infrastructure will increase." "The AI Factory being built by SK Telecom and Nvidia will be essential not only for the Korean public, educational institutions, universities, and scientific research institutes, but also for industries including startups."

SK Telecom plans to leverage this partnership to become one of Asia's leading AI cloud providers. Unlike traditional cloud services, AI cloud is a new business model that offers services specialized for AI tasks such as learning, inference, and data processing.

In addition, the two companies will collaborate on research to develop a next-generation AI Factory design and operational system. The new research and development (R&D) collaboration will include joint studies of computing architectures that enhance the performance of both graphics processing units (GPUs) and memory from the design stage. To this end, the two companies plan to establish a joint consultative body.

Chairman Chey emphasized, "By jointly addressing issues related to GPUs, memory, and energy, our two companies will emerge as leading AI cloud providers driving the development of the AI ecosystem across Asia." He added, "By working with Nvidia, we will contribute to the stabilization of the AI ecosystem." However, regarding specific costs and timelines for the partnership, he stated that they plan to continue a long-term partnership and declined to provide further details.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.