SKT eyes AI data centers for early growthSKT eyes AI data centers for early growth

SK Telecom expects its AI data centers (AIDCs) to be the first major revenue source in its burgeoning AI business.

CFO Kim Yang-seob told an earnings call Wednesday that demand for AIDC capacity was already outrunning supply, with 80% of data centers under construction in South Korea already leased out.

"There is much more visibility into monetization of the AIDC market," he said, adding: "so we believe that we'll be able to generate revenue in a short period in the near future." He also said SKT also saw "very big growth potential" from the GenAI enterprise market and new opportunities from emerging consumer AI.

SKT's recently released corporate plan demonstrated its AI vision and its commitment to becoming a global AI company, according to Kim. The plan forecasts 70% growth in total revenue over the next six years, with AI to account for 35% of revenue by 2030.

Kim acknowledged these were "ambitious targets" but said the company had strengths in its ability to operate high-capacity AIDCs and to leverage its existing infrastructure. However, he declined to reveal SKT's current AI revenue split.

AI superhighway

The telco is set to open its first AIDC in Gasan, Seoul, in December with partner Lambda, and expects to launch its subscription-based GPU-as-a-service (GPUaaS) within a year.

"We plan to deploy thousands of GPUs in the next three years to provide an optimal environment for high density GPU server operation," Kim said. 

Earlier this week the telco announced it would build a national "AI infrastructure superhighway" encompassing hyperscale AIDCs, cloud-based GPUaaS and edge AI deployed on its mobile basestations.

In future it would scale up gigawatt AIDCs to become an Asia-Pacific hub, it said. 

In the consumer AI segment, SKT's personal assistant, A., now has 5.6 million subscribers, and it has just launched a new version, Aster, for the global market.

The company reported a 7.1% rise in Q3 operating income Wednesday, with topline revenue lifting 2.9% to 4.5 trillion Korean won (US$3.23 billion).

In its core mobile business, operating income grew 12%, with tight cost control compensating for flat revenue. It added 400,000 5G subs in the quarter, taking the total to 16.6 million, or nearly three-quarters of its customer base.

The enterprise unit recorded KRW428 billion ($306 million) in revenue, up 8%, with the data center and cloud businesses growing 14% and 30% respectively.

SKT's stock rose 1.77% on the Seoul exchange Wednesday.