LG Uplus plans to invest significantly in AI data centers, aiming for 5 trillion Korean won in orders by 2030. Their Paju AIDC, with a 200MW capacity and hybrid air/liquid cooling developed with LG Electronics, will support data-intensive operations crucial for the streaming industry.
The investment by LG Uplus into high-capacity, energy-efficient AI data centers signals a critical response to the escalating data processing demands of AI workloads, particularly in inference. This move solidifies South Korea's infrastructure capabilities for generative AI services, potentially reducing latency and improving service delivery within the broader Asian streaming and content ecosystem. The success of their modular construction and hybrid cooling model, especially with the Paju AIDC's already sold-out initial capacity, will be a key indicator for how effectively telecom operators can pivot to become AI infrastructure providers, impacting deployment timelines and operational costs for data-intensive streaming platforms.
LG Uplus's AIDC strategy follows a broader trend of telecom operators expanding into AI infrastructure. The company plans to introduce a 'mega-class' standardized prefabricated modular data center (PMDC) method to accelerate deployment, allowing for flexible expansion and faster response to demand, according to The Asia Business Daily (June 2026). The Paju AIDC's power per rack is designed for 200 kW, capable of accommodating Nvidia's next-generation AI server platforms like the Rubin NVL72 and NVL144 (en.sedaily.com, June 2026). LG Uplus is also emphasizing operational stability, deploying robotic systems to monitor conditions like temperature, humidity, and leaks across the facility (Korea Times, June 2026). This shift positions LG Uplus to evolve beyond a simple connectivity provider into an 'AI Factory Operator,' managing GPU, power, and cooling resources for optimized AI workloads, as reported by DigitalToday (June 2026). The full capacity pre-contracting for Paju Block 1 underscores the immediate and significant market demand for advanced AI compute infrastructure in the region.
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