SKT teams up with Schneider Electric for AI data centers

Partnership expected to strengthen SKT competitiveness, CEO says

By Nam Hyun-woo

SK Telecom signed a memorandum of understanding with energy management specialist Schneider Electric to support its bid to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) data center businesses in the global market, the company said Wednesday.

During the Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona, Spain, SK Telecom CEO Yoo Young-sang and Pankaj Sharma, executive vice president of Schneider Electric's Secure Power Division, signed the agreement to collaborate on mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems for AI data centers.

MEP systems play a pivotal role in securing stability and efficiency for designing, building and operating AI data centers.

Schneider Electric has collaborated with Microsoft for the past 30 years and last year it reached a partnership with Nvidia on optimizing AI data center infrastructure and digital twin technologies. Recognized as one of the world’s leading plumbing solution providers for data centers, Schneider Electric was honored as the top firm on Time magazine's 2024 list of the World’s Most Sustainable Companies.

Based on this latest partnership, the two sides will discuss their cooperation on SK Telecom’s project to build an AI data center in Korea, and their partnership will encompass all aspects of MEP systems, the Korean company said. Earlier this week it announced its plan to establish a 100-megawatt AI data center powered by 60,000 advanced GPUs in Korea.

The companies also plan to extend the partnership for long-term cooperation, jointly developing solutions for AI data centers in the global market.

“Through our collaboration with Schneider Electric, a world-leading AI data center solutions provider, we expect to significantly strengthen our AI data center competitiveness and greatly contribute to our entry into the global market,” Yoo said.