Asia’s AI expansion surges as PDG pours $700M into Korea

Princeton Digital Group (PDG), a leading developer and operator of data centers focused on the fastest-growing digital economies in Asia, has announced its intention to develop its first data center in South Korea, with an investment of approximately $700 million. This move aims to support the development of AI in the country.

In an interview, Rangu Salgame, Chairman and CEO of PDG, hinted that the data center operator plans to establish its initial data center in Incheon, a major port city and the third-largest metropolitan area in South Korea. Additionally, the CEO mentioned that this data center will initially have a capacity of 48 megawatts and will later expand to 500 megawatts across multiple locations.

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the company has successfully secured its energy supply, and construction of this data center is set to commence this month. According to sources close to the situation, PDG intends for its facility to start operating fully by early 2028. 

The PDG plans to remain competitive in the AI Industry with significant investments 

Asia is striving to match the pace of US tech giants and AI-related companies that are making significant investments in the sector, such as the construction of data centers worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Examples of these Asian countries include Japan, India, and South Korea.

According to reports, these countries are currently developing their own large language models, aiming to meet data sovereignty demands and improve enterprise usage in a region considered significant for AI growth.

Regarding the growing interest in the AI industry among Asian countries, Salgame commented that the PDG plans to expand its presence in the rapidly growing AI market with an investment of approximately $25 billion over the next five years. In this plan, the company aims to increase its total capacity from 1.3 gigawatts to more than 4 gigawatts. 

In the meantime, apart from this plan, PDG’s CEO also mentioned that the firm seeks to invest $6 billion in South Korea by the end of the decade. 

Currently, PDG operates in Singapore, Japan, India, Indonesia, China, and Malaysia. Its investors include the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Mubadala Investment Company, a sovereign fund from the United Arab Emirates, and Stonepeak Partners, based in New York. 

“While the US is rapidly expanding AI data centers, Asia will see a big surge in the next five years,” said Salgame. 

His remarks followed the discovery that the overall capacity of the Asia-Pacific region is expected to triple to 40 gigawatts by the end of the decade. To achieve this anticipation, analysts expressed that this capacity will be backed by $300 billion in investments.

South Korea’s government pledges to back new AI technology 

Earlier reports noted that South Korea poses challenges for data center operators due to limited land availability, power grid issues, and stringent permit regulations, which slow down development.

To address such issues, the government has made clear its intention to support new AI technology that requires significant amounts of computing power by dedicating considerable investments and prioritizing relevant policies.

Notably, Seoul’s plans have attracted some major tech firms to expand their presence in the nation. Examples of these tech giants include OpenAI, which opened its first Korean office this year in response to high demand for its ChatGPT service. With this move in place, reports highlighted that South Korea has been ranked as the second-largest market for paying subscribers after the US. 

The San Francisco-based tech company also plans to collaborate with South Korean tech giants, such as Samsung Electronics Co., to build data centers. 

Additionally, Amazon.com Inc. announced in October that it will invest an additional $5 billion in South Korean data centers, bringing the total investment to $9 billion, following its earlier pledge of $4 billion this year.

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