Shinsegae CEO Chung Yong-jin is seen, in this photo provided by the retail giant.
SEOUL, March 17 (AJP) - Shinsegae said Tuesday it has agreed to build a mega data center for artificial intelligence (AI) in South Korea in partnership with a U.S. AI company.
The retail giant's chairman Chung Yong-jin met Reflection AI CEO Misha Laskin in San Francisco last Sunday and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to form a strategic partnership to build the 250-megawatt data center.
The AI startup's co-founder Laskin, along with Ioannis Antonoglou - a key developer of AlphaGo - both previously worked at Google DeepMind.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick also joined their meeting and pledged to "actively support" the project's successful progress, according to Shinsegae.
The partnership between the two companies is expected to become the first project under the American AI Exports Program, launched in 2025 under an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump to promote "the export of full-stack American AI technology packages to allies and partners worldwide." Once completed, it would also be the largest data center built or planned in the country, according to Shinsegae.
Shinsegae said it plans to make AI its core future business, accelerating efforts to apply it across shopping, logistics, and payment.
Graphics processing units (GPUs) for the data center will be supplied by Nvidia through Reflection AI, which raised US$2 billion from investors including Nvidia in October last year after being valued at US$8 billion.
"AI will wholly transform every field, making it impossible to survive without it," Chung said, adding that the data center will "serve as a foundation for Shinsegae's future growth and help foster South Korea's broader AI ecosystem."
Touting South Korea as a global IT powerhouse and a strong U.S. ally, Laskin said the partnership with Shinsegae will establish AI infrastructure that South Korea can develop on its own.
Shinsegae said the project under the MOU will proceed swiftly in phases, with the two companies planning to establish a joint venture within this year.
The retail giant's chairman Chung Yong-jin met Reflection AI CEO Misha Laskin in San Francisco last Sunday and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to form a strategic partnership to build the 250-megawatt data center.
The AI startup's co-founder Laskin, along with Ioannis Antonoglou - a key developer of AlphaGo - both previously worked at Google DeepMind.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick also joined their meeting and pledged to "actively support" the project's successful progress, according to Shinsegae.
The partnership between the two companies is expected to become the first project under the American AI Exports Program, launched in 2025 under an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump to promote "the export of full-stack American AI technology packages to allies and partners worldwide." Once completed, it would also be the largest data center built or planned in the country, according to Shinsegae.
Shinsegae said it plans to make AI its core future business, accelerating efforts to apply it across shopping, logistics, and payment.
Graphics processing units (GPUs) for the data center will be supplied by Nvidia through Reflection AI, which raised US$2 billion from investors including Nvidia in October last year after being valued at US$8 billion.
"AI will wholly transform every field, making it impossible to survive without it," Chung said, adding that the data center will "serve as a foundation for Shinsegae's future growth and help foster South Korea's broader AI ecosystem."
Touting South Korea as a global IT powerhouse and a strong U.S. ally, Laskin said the partnership with Shinsegae will establish AI infrastructure that South Korea can develop on its own.
Shinsegae said the project under the MOU will proceed swiftly in phases, with the two companies planning to establish a joint venture within this year.
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