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SK Telecom said the new company, dubbed SK Horizon will operate and expand the carrier’s AI data center infrastructure, targeting 318 MW of total capacity across eight existing facilities and data centers under construction
In sum – what to know:
AI infrastructure separated – SK Telecom plans to spin off SK Broadband’s data center and submarine cable operations into SK Horizon, creating a dedicated AIDC infrastructure company.
$2.1B investment secured – KKR and the IMM Investment-Stonebridge consortium will invest a combined KRW 3.08 trillion, taking 29% and 20% stakes, respectively.
Capacity expansion accelerates – SK Horizon will target 318 MW across existing and planned facilities, while SK Hyper targets 5 GW by 2029 and 15 GW by 2035.
Korean carrier SK Telecom plans to spin off SK Broadband’s data center and submarine cable businesses into a new company, SK Horizon, as it reorganizes its AI infrastructure operations and brings in external capital to fund expansion.
SK Telecom has signed a definitive agreement with funds managed by KKR and the IMM Investment-Stonebridge consortium for a combined KRW 3.08 trillion ($2.1 billion) equity investment in SK Horizon. Following completion of the transaction, SK Telecom will retain a 51% stake, while KKR and the IMM consortium will hold 29% and 20%, respectively.
SK Horizon will operate and expand the carrier’s AI data center infrastructure, targeting 318 MW of total capacity across eight existing facilities and data centers under construction, including sites in Ulsan and Guro. The company will also pursue a phased expansion of its submarine cable infrastructure, which the Korean operator identifies as important for supporting global AI businesses.
The restructuring separates SK Telecom’s broader AI infrastructure strategy from the operational responsibilities of SK Horizon. The telco will oversee the group’s AIDC strategy and partnerships with global technology companies, while SK Horizon will focus on operating and expanding existing infrastructure.
The Korean operator said the new structure is intended to give the AIDC business greater operational expertise and faster decision-making, while making it easier to secure external funding for infrastructure expansion. SK Horizon is expected to be established in the first quarter of next year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.
Last month, SK Telecom established a dedicated subsidiary to accelerate the development of hyperscale AI data center infrastructure, creating a new company focused on building up to 15GW of AI data center capacity across South Korea over the coming decade.
According to SK Telecom, SK Hyper will oversee the full development process for its AI data center business, including securing land, constructing and operating substations, attracting customers, and commercializing new facilities.
SK Hyper will pursue the development of 15GW of AI data center capacity over the medium to long term. The first phase targets the opening of 5GW of capacity beginning in 2029, with additional expansion planned toward a total of 15GW by 2035, subject to market demand and other factors.
In June, SK Telecom and Nvidia had revealed plans to develop a gigawatt-scale AI Cloud in South Korea based on Nvidia’s DSX AI factory architecture. The first AI factory is scheduled to begin operations in 2027.
According to the companies, the AI Cloud will provide GPU-based infrastructure for AI model training, inference, and agentic AI, supporting sovereign AI initiatives as well as enterprise and industrial applications. SK Telecom also said the platform is intended to expand beyond South Korea to serve other Asian markets over time.
Beyond deploying infrastructure, Nvidia and SK Group announced plans to jointly research next-generation AI factory architectures, focusing on areas including accelerated computing, memory technologies, and data center operations to improve the scalability and efficiency of future AI infrastructure.
