South Korea's KT Commits 18 Trillion Won to Become an 'AX Platform Company'; SK Telecom Secures Funding for AI Data Center Platform
The Korean operator's five-year plan covers about 25 AI data centers totaling 1 GW of capacity and 3,500 AI edge facilities, while SK Telecom's SK Horizon spin-off draws $2.1 billion from KKR and partners.
KT, South Korea's largest fixed-line operator, confirmed on November 1 a five-year, 18-trillion-won investment plan to transform itself into an "AX platform company". The allocation covers 8 trillion won for networks including 6G and data center interconnection, 4 trillion won for cybersecurity and IT, 5 trillion won to build roughly 25 AI data centers with 1 gigawatt of total capacity plus about 3,500 telecom facilities converted into AI edge sites, and 1 trillion won for submarine cables, raising capacity from 38 to 128 Tbps. KT's AX revenue rose 22.3 percent year on year in the second quarter.
In parallel, SK Telecom has formed SK Horizon, a new AI data center and submarine cable platform with 318 MW of capacity, backed by a $2.1 billion commitment from KKR, IMM Investment and Stonebridge, targeting closing in the first quarter of 2027. With nine EMEA operators also building NVIDIA-based infrastructure, telecom-to-AI-infrastructure conversion is now a global pattern rather than an experiment.