S. Korean SK Group to Secure $58 Billion in AI, Chip Investments

SK Group, South Korea's chip-to-construction conglomerate, said Sunday it will secure 80 trillion won ($58 billion) by 2026 for investments, mainly in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors. Some 20 chief executives of the group's major affiliates gathered at its research center in Icheon, 58 km southeast of Seoul, from Friday to Saturday to come up with investment plans for future growth, SK Group said in a statement, South Korea's (Yonhap) news agency reported. "The group needs to preemptively make drastic changes in the face of the new transition era," SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said in the meeting. Given the accelerating AI industry in the US, SK Group must also strengthen "AI value chain leadership," from AI services to AI infrastructure, the chairman said. Separately, to cement its leadership in the semiconductors industry, the group's core affiliate, SK hynix Inc., will invest 103 trillion won by 2028 in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI chipsets and other AI-related busines ses, the statement said. SK Telecom Co., the country's leading wireless services providers, and telecommunications firm SK Broadband Co. will invest 3.4 trillion won in establishing AI data centers by 2028, it said. Source: Qatar News Agency