South Korea joins Stargate AI Data Centre Project in UAE

Seoul announced on Tuesday that South Korea had agreed to collaborate with the United Arab Emirates to build an artificial intelligence data campus, a project backed by the United States.

South Korea announced that it would help build the computing power and energy infrastructure of the largest AI data centre outside the United States after South Korean president Lee Jae Myung met with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

South Korea, the home of chipmakers Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and SK Hynix aims to be a regional AI Hub after President Lee who assumed office on June 4 prioritised AI Investment to spur growth in a period when U.S. Tariffs have clouded broader economic prospects.

In October, Samsung Electronics signed an initial agreement with SK Hynix to supply memory chip for OpenAI Stargate data centers.

Ha Jung-woo said that South Korea would also build a grid of power using renewable energy, nuclear power and gas for the Stargate Project, at a press briefing.

A strategic framework agreement, signed on Tuesday, will see the two countries deepen their cooperation in the area of AI. This includes AI infrastructure and investment, AI supply chain and AI research and developments.

Stargate UAE was part of an agreement brokered by U.S. president Donald Trump, despite restrictions placed on the U.S. to send advanced technology to UAE due to its close relationship with China.

The Stargate UAE project is the first phase. It will be built by G42, a state-owned UAE company, in partnership with U.S. companies OpenAI, Oracle and Nvidia, as well Japan's SoftBank Group. Reporting by Hyunjoo Ji; Editing by Andrew Heavens Conor Humphries Ed Davies

(source: Reuters)