SK chairman calls for sustainable AI business model amid investment boom

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has urged the development of sustainable business models for artificial intelligence (AI), emphasizing that the significant investments being made in the technology must ultimately generate returns to ensure continued growth. Speaking at the Ulsan Forum 2026, the group's annual gathering, Chey stated that humankind's substantial energy and resource investment in AI necessitates better monetization strategies.

Chey warned of a potential AI investment bubble if the vast capital flowing into the sector fails to produce sufficient returns, stressing the need for a self-sustaining ecosystem where AI profits can finance further investment. He identified speed, scale, and safety as key pillars of SK's AI strategy, highlighting the importance of achieving economies of scale, particularly in the manufacturing sector, where industrial AI requires data that cannot be secured by individual companies or regions alone.

The SK chairman also noted that the capacity of SK's AI data center, under construction in Ulsan in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), has been expanded to nearly 900 megawatts. The project, with an estimated cost of 7 trillion won ($5.2 billion), is scheduled to commence operations in the second half of 2027. SK Group plans to announce further partnerships with global technology companies as the project progresses.