Samsung SDS Breaks Ground on AI Data Center in Gumi as Part of $44.6 Billion Yeongnam Investment Plan

Samsung SDS has commenced construction of an artificial intelligence data center in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, marking the first tangible step in Samsung Group's broader 60 trillion won ($44.6 billion) investment initiative aimed at transforming the Yeongnam region into a global hub for physical AI innovation. The groundbreaking ceremony, held Monday, underscores the conglomerate's push to build the computing backbone required for AI-driven manufacturing and robotics automation.

The facility will occupy a 46,000-square-meter site in Gongdan-dong and is designed with an initial power capacity of 60 megawatts, scalable to 120 MW to accommodate surging demand for AI computing infrastructure. Construction commenced after Gumi City approved the project in late August, with completion targeted for the end of 2028. The project traces back to January, when Samsung SDS announced a 427.3 billion won investment and signed a memorandum of understanding with North Gyeongsang Province and the city of Gumi.

As a hyperscale facility, the data center will draw on Samsung SDS' three decades of experience in data center construction and operations. It will feature high-capacity power infrastructure, redundant critical systems and emergency power supplies to ensure reliable operation of power-intensive AI servers. A hybrid cooling system combining air and liquid cooling will manage heat generated by high-performance graphics processing units, with air cooling serving conventional networking and storage servers while liquid cooling addresses high-density GPU server areas. The design also accommodates racks with varying power demands, including ultra-high-power configurations.

Samsung SDS plans to operate its own GPU infrastructure while offering colocation services that allow customers to install and operate their own GPU equipment on-site. The data center will serve both external customers and Samsung affiliates, particularly supporting the group's manufacturing robotics transformation by providing computing resources for training AI systems used in precision industrial robots.

"AI is transforming how companies operate and reshaping industrial competitiveness," said Samsung SDS CEO Lee June-hee. "Turning these changes into tangible results requires a solid foundation capable of processing vast amounts of data and ensuring the stable operation of AI systems." Lee added that the company would leverage its expertise in data centers, cloud computing and AI to build reliable infrastructure, deliver comprehensive AI services and contribute to regional economic development.

The Gumi project is part of a wider investment roadmap announced in July that spans the Yeongnam region, covering humanoid robots and AI data centers in Gumi, all-solid-state batteries in Ulsan, advanced packaging substrates and multilayer ceramic capacitors for AI servers in Busan, and high-value-added vessels in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province. The initiative is expected to provide critical infrastructure for AI-driven manufacturing while supporting national AI development initiatives and fostering the regional industrial ecosystem.