NEW YORK — US investment firm BlackRock and the South Korean government will work together to set up a "hyperscale" data center hub in Asia's fourth-largest economy, with the aim of completing the project in a decade, according to the presidential office Monday.
The infrastructure needed to run artificial intelligence applications — which involve a massive volume of computing tasks — would not only meet domestic demands but also accommodate demand across the Asia-Pacific region, which could see explosive growth in the next few years, according to a memorandum of understanding signed Monday between Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon and Larry Fink, chairman of BlackRock and interim co-chair of the World Economic Forum.
The agreement was reached during President Lee Jae Myung's meeting with Fink in New York. Also present at the meeting were Adebayo Ogunlesi, chair of BlackRock-owned Global Investment Partners, and Jim Yong Kim, former President of the World Bank.
"South Korea is science-savvy and its people are used to embracing new changes, so I think South Korea could be exemplary in its swift adoption of artificial intelligence and its rapid transition to renewable energy," Lee said during the meeting.
South Korea and BlackRock will "cooperate on plans to establish data centers for hyperscale AI applications powered by renewable energy," Ha Jung-woo, Lee's senior presidential secretary for AI policy and future planning, told reporters Monday.
The tentative agreement will allow South Korea to "spearhead the establishment of an AI-related infrastructure hub in the Asia-Pacific region," Ha also said, adding that the new hub would not only attract capital but also cutting-edge technology projects that require an advanced infrastructure.
Ha did not elaborate on how much demand the "hyperscale" AI data center could accommodate if built as planned, or where the hub would be located in South Korea.
Fink was quoted as saying by Rep. Cha Ji-ho of the liberal Democratic Party that he would work to turn South Korea into the "AI capital of Asia," and that the hub could open up investment opportunities for global capital.
Cha added that a task force between the South Korean government and BlackRock will be established in a follow-up to the memorandum. Fink leads the world's largest asset management firm by assets, with $12.5 trillion as of the second quarter.
The surprise announcement comes ahead of Lee's plan to chair an open debate of the 15-member United Nations Security Council about the use of AI as South Korea assumes the rotating presidency of the council this month.
Meanwhile, Science Minister Bae and AI Senior Secretary Ha are poised to visit IBM's research facility in New York on Tuesday to get a glimpse of how South Korea's quantum technology research capability could further develop, as the technology is expected to contribute to a leap forward in AI technology, Ha said during the briefing.
consnow@heraldcorp.com