THE ESSENTIALS IN 30 SECONDS

  • LG CNS completed a 30 MW AI data centre in Jakarta for KMG, a Sinar Mas Group joint venture, with room to grow to as much as 400 MW.
  • Samsung SDS is building a 60 MW AI data centre in Gumi, to be doubled to 120 MW in phases, with completion due at the end of 2028.
  • Both firms plan GPU-as-a-service offerings; Samsung SDS approved 427.3 billion won for the Gumi project and targets 500 MW of data centre projects by 2031.

Two of South Korea's largest IT services companies announced AI data centre projects on Monday, November 2: one built abroad for a client, the other planned at home for the Samsung group and outside customers.

LG CNS: a first overseas build in Jakarta

LG CNS, the IT arm of LG Group, said it had completed a hyperscale AI data centre with 30 megawatts of capacity in Jakarta, according to The Korea Herald. The client is KMG, a joint venture between Indonesia's Sinar Mas Group and Korea Investment Real Asset Management. LG CNS says it is the first time a South Korean company has built an AI data centre for a foreign client.

The site is designed for high-performance computing on recent GPUs, and the company plans to expand it to as much as 400 MW. LG CNS also intends to take the business to Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan, and to sell subscription GPU services and liquid-cooling systems. It did not disclose the investment or a timetable for the expansion.

Samsung SDS: a liquid-cooled campus in Gumi

On the same day, Samsung SDS detailed a new AI data centre on a 46,000-square-metre site in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. It will start at 60 MW and double to 120 MW through phased expansion, with completion scheduled for the end of 2028. The company approved 427.3 billion won (about $319 million) for the project in January, and city authorities approved construction in late August.

The centre will serve AI-driven manufacturing robots at Samsung affiliates and offer GPU computing and colocation to other customers. It will combine liquid cooling for high-heat equipment with air cooling elsewhere. The project belongs to the Samsung group's 60 trillion won plan, announced in July, for advanced manufacturing in the southeast of the country. Samsung SDS said last week it was the preferred bidder for a separate project of more than 200 MW and aims to secure 500 MW of data centre projects by 2031.

What remains unclear

Neither announcement names the GPU suppliers or the prices of the planned compute services. Samsung SDS has not said how Gumi's capacity will be split between group companies and outside clients, or when it will go beyond the first 60 MW. The moves show Korean IT services firms trying to turn domestic demand for AI computing into a regional business.