Imagine a world where AI innovation is supercharged from within! SK Telecom is making waves with its groundbreaking Sovereign AI Infrastructure, fueled by VAST Data’s cutting-edge storage and Nvidia’s powerful Blackwell GPUs. This isn’t just tech news; it’s a leap into the future of national-scale AI. Ready to see how South Korea is accelerating its AI ambitions?

VAST Data has emerged as a pivotal technology partner, powering SK Telecom’s ambitious new sovereign AI infrastructure, specifically its cutting-edge GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) offering. This collaboration marks a significant advancement in South Korea’s push for AI autonomy and underscores the critical role of robust storage solutions in supporting national-scale AI initiatives within the highly competitive global technology landscape.

SK Telecom (SKT) recently unveiled its groundbreaking sovereign AI Infrastructure, a monumental undertaking that establishes a self-reliant and powerful AI computing environment. Central to this initiative is the “Haein” cluster, a formidable aggregation of more than 1,000 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs, seamlessly integrated to form a single, high-performance unit designed for next-generation AI workloads.

This launch is part of SKT’s broader, ongoing project aimed at transforming the company into a leading global AI entity. The telecommunications giant, alongside its strategic partners, is actively developing a comprehensive, full-stack AI ecosystem. This encompasses proprietary technologies spanning advanced semiconductors, foundational AI models, sophisticated data management, and innovative AI-driven services, with a strong commitment to open-sourcing these developed models to foster growth within the domestic South Korean AI community.

SKT’s multi-faceted approach to AI data center business models includes Hyperscale deployments, dedicated solutions for single enterprise customers, small and modular setups, and its flagship GPUaaS for subscription-based AI cloud services. The “Haein” cluster is strategically positioned within this framework to cater to diverse and demanding AI computing needs across various sectors.

Further emphasizing its national importance, the Haein Cluster has secured a key role in South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT’s program. This involvement is part of a larger initiative focused on enhancing the foundation of AI computing resource utilization, specifically under the Proprietary AI Foundation Model project, solidifying the cluster’s strategic value for national development.

To realize this sovereign AI infrastructure, SKT forged crucial strategic global partnerships. These include collaborations with Penguin Solutions for the development and integration of advanced AI DataCenter (AIDC) systems, and Supermicro, which played a vital role in globally sourcing and procuring the necessary AI servers, ensuring a robust and resilient supply chain for the ambitious project.

VAST Data’s contribution is particularly significant, with SKT deploying VAST’s AI Operating System directly on the powerful Nvidia Blackwell GPUs. This integration is designed to accelerate virtualization processes, significantly simplify complex AI data pipelines, and provide unparalleled support for national-scale AI training and inference operations, forming the backbone of the high-performance environment.

DK Lee, Vice President and Head of AI DC Lab at SKT, affirmed the partnership’s impact, stating, “VAST Data’s unified architecture has been instrumental in helping us move from legacy bare-metal deployments to a fully virtualized, production-grade AI cloud. The VAST AI OS powers the performance, simplicity, and flexibility needed to support the next generation of sovereign AI workloads, and gives us the confidence to scale fast and securely. With VAST, we’re enabling a GPUaaS platform that meets the exacting needs of government, research, and enterprise AI customers in South Korea.”

Ultimately, this strategic alliance between VAST Data and SK Telecom is not merely a technological upgrade but a foundational leap towards strengthening South Korea’s self-reliance in artificial intelligence, providing a scalable and secure platform for future innovation and economic growth within the nation’s AI ecosystem.