Tech giant Samsung SDS has officially broken ground on a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) data center in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. This development represents the inaugural milestone of Samsung’s massive 60 trillion won ($43+ billion) regional investment initiative targeting South Korea’s Yeongnam area, which was unveiled earlier in July.

Located on the former Gumi Plant 1 grounds—purchased from Samsung Electronics—the facility represents a committed capital expenditure of 427.3 billion won for construction and infrastructure. Set for completion by late 2028, the installation will start with a 60-megawatt (MW) capacity baseline, with scalability up to 120 MW to meet escalating future AI workloads. The overarching regional investment blueprint encompasses diverse advanced sectors across the Yeongnam belt, spanning robotics and AI hubs in Gumi, solid-state battery manufacturing in Ulsan, AI semiconductor components in Busan, and advanced shipbuilding in Geoje.

Engineered specifically to house high-density GPU clusters, the Gumi facility addresses the intense thermal loads and energy demands characteristic of modern AI computation. It will leverage a sophisticated hybrid cooling architecture, combining conventional air-cooling systems for standard servers with liquid-chilled water circulation tailored for high-output GPU hardware. Robust electrical grids, redundant power safeguards, and fail-safe infrastructural backups are embedded to guarantee uninterrupted enterprise-grade reliability.

Once operational, the hub will serve dual purposes: powering Samsung SDS's proprietary enterprise AI cloud solutions and supporting factory automation and robotics training for Samsung group affiliates. Furthermore, the company will offer commercial co-location services, allowing outside businesses to deploy their proprietary servers within the facility's advanced power and thermal ecosystem.

"Artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping operational paradigms and market competitiveness," noted Lee Joon-hee, CEO of Samsung SDS. "By leveraging our deep-rooted expertise in infrastructure management alongside cutting-edge cloud and AI capabilities, we aim to deliver a trusted digital backbone for our global clients."

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