SK Hyper is in talks with big technology companies and financial investors to fund 5 gigawatts of AI data centers in South Korea, the first stage of a 15-gigawatt plan. Its chief executive said finding global demand is the biggest challenge.
SK Hyper, the AI data-center development unit of SK Telecom, is in talks with large technology companies and financial investors to help fund a build-out whose first phase it estimates at about $350 billion, Chief Executive Chung Suk-geun said in an interview with Bloomberg News.
The first phase covers 5 gigawatts of capacity, including servers and equipment, as part of a plan to reach 15 gigawatts in South Korea by 2035, according to Korean media. SK Hyper is aiming to bring in its first outside capital at the end of 2026 or early 2027, with more over the following three to four years.
No investors or terms have been named.
What the figure is, and is not
The $350 billion is the estimated total cost of the first phase, including equipment. It is not capital raised or committed. The financing mix, between equity, debt and customer spending, has not been described.
The demand question
Chung was direct about the main risk. Securing global demand is the biggest challenge, he said. A data center is only as valuable as its tenants, and a buildout of this size depends on hyperscale cloud and AI companies committing to use the capacity.
That makes the timing awkward. The talks are surfacing in a week when investors in the U.S. sold off AI infrastructure stocks, from chipmakers to power producers, over concern about how long the spending boom can last and how it will be financed.
Why it matters for private markets
AI data centers have become a major destination for private capital, through infrastructure equity funds and private credit. A Korean telecom seeking outside money at this scale extends that theme to Asia. Which investors join, and on what terms, will show how much appetite remains for long-dated AI infrastructure outside the U.S.
What to watch
The first external funding round, targeted for late 2026 or early 2027, the identity of any anchor tenants, and the mix of equity and debt.