The Tamesis
A South Korean conglomerate announced plans on Tuesday to build the country’s largest artificial intelligence data center in partnership with a U.S. startup backed by Nvidia.
South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group and New York startup Reflection AI said their data centers will have a massive 250 megawatts of energy capacity.
The data center, equipped with servers from US giant Nvidia, will serve businesses across South Korea, the companies said.
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Their announcement early on Tuesday, Seoul time, said it would provide “a fully sovereign, forward-facing capability built and operated locally.”
South Korean media said this would make it the country’s largest data center running artificial intelligence systems that power chatbots, image generators and similar tools.
So-called sovereign AI has become a priority for many countries looking to reduce reliance on foreign platforms while ensuring systems respect local regulations, including data privacy regulations.
South Korea, home to major memory chip makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, has said it aims to join the United States and China as one of the top three artificial intelligence powers.
“We are building an AI infrastructure that South Korea can control, audit and grow,” said Misha Laskin, CEO and co-founder of Reflection AI.
Reduce vulnerability to China
Reflection AI was founded in 2024 as part of an Nvidia-led collaboration to advance cutting-edge artificial intelligence.
Donald Trump’s administration hailed the company’s deal with South Korea as a victory for its artificial intelligence export plans as it battles with China for dominance in the fast-growing field.
U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg praised the deal at X, saying “those countries that are building the infrastructure now will define the future of AI governance.”
“America’s job is to ensure that our allies build it with us,” he wrote.
“From Washington’s perspective, such deals help strengthen the partner ecosystem and reduce dependence on China,” Reema Bhattacharya, head of Asia research at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, told AFP.
But she said most Asian governments do not want to be drawn into this binary relationship.
“In practical terms, this means you’ll see countries quietly balancing their partnerships with the United States on their own terms while making strategic concessions to China to keep the relationship stable.”
Bhattacharya added that complete self-sufficiency in AI “is not a realistic goal for most Asian countries in the short term.”
“Instead, I see a more pragmatic goal of reducing the vulnerability of an ecosystem heavily impacted by U.S. and Chinese dominance of models, chips and talent.”
- Vishakha Saxena, AFP Further editing
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