Princeton Digital Group (PDG), a leading developer and operator of data centers focused on Asia’s fastest growing digital economy, announced its intention to invest approximately $700 million to develop its first data center in South Korea. The move aims to support domestic AI development.
In an interview, PDG Chairman and CEO Lang Salgame hinted that the data center operator plans to establish its first data center in Incheon, a major port city and South Korea’s third largest metropolitan area. The CEO further stated that the data center will have an initial capacity of 48 MW, which will later be expanded to 500 MW across multiple locations.
Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the company has managed to secure energy supplies and the construction of this data center is scheduled to start this month. PDG plans to have the facility fully operational by early 2028, according to people close to the situation.
PDG plans to make significant investments to remain competitive in the AI industry
Asia is trying to keep pace with US tech giants and AI companies, which are investing heavily in the sector, including building hundreds of billions of dollars worth of data centers. Examples of these Asian countries include Japan, India, and South Korea.
According to the report, these countries are currently developing their own large-scale language models with the aim of meeting data sovereignty demands and improving enterprise use in regions considered important for the growth of AI.
Regarding Given the growing interest in the AI industry among Asian countries, Salgame commented that PDG plans to: expand your presence Approximately $25 billion invested in the rapidly growing AI market for the next five years. Under the plan, the company aims to increase total capacity from 1.3 gigawatts to more than 4 gigawatts.
Meanwhile, PDG’s CEO also mentioned that apart from this plan, the company aims to invest $6 billion in South Korea by the end of 2020.
Currently, PDG has operations in Singapore, Japan, India, Indonesia, China and Malaysia. Investors include the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, United Arab Emirates sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company, and New York-based Stonepeak Partners.
“While the US is rapidly expanding its AI data centers, Asia will see a huge surge over the next five years,” Salgame said.
His comments came after it was revealed that capacity across the Asia-Pacific region is expected to triple to 40 gigawatts by the end of 2010. To achieve this expectation, analysts have expressed that this capability will be backed by investments of $300 billion.
South Korean government promises to support new AI technology
Previous reports pointed to challenges for data center operators in South Korea, including limited available land, power grid issues and strict permitting regulations that slow development.
To address these issues, governments have made clear their intention to support new AI technologies that require large amounts of computing power by investing heavily and prioritizing relevant policies.
In particular, Seoul’s plans have attracted several major technology companies to expand their presence in the country. Examples of these tech giants include: OpenAIopened its first Korean office this year in response to high demand for its ChatGPT service. Reports highlighted that the move ranks South Korea as the second paying subscriber market after the United States.
The San Francisco-based technology company also plans to build data centers in cooperation with Korean technology giants such as Samsung Electronics.
Additionally, Amazon.com announced in October that it would invest an additional $5 billion in data centers in South Korea, following a $4 billion commitment earlier this year, bringing the total investment to $9 billion.
join premium cryptocurrency trading Community free for 30 days – usually $100/month.
