A new venture, Fir Hills Inc, is aiming to develop a 3GW AI data center in South Korea.
Part of Stock Farm Road, Inc. (SFR), Fir Hills has been co-founded by Brian Koo and Dr. Amin Badr-El-Din. The company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Governor Kim of the Jeollanam-do Province for the data center project.
Fir Hills/SFR estimates that the 3GW data center will need at least $10 billion in investment, possibly increasing to $35 billion. The company is aiming to begin construction in the winter of 2025, and be completed in 2028.
The AI data center will have "advanced cooling infrastructure" and will be able to handle significant and sudden variations in energy load - something that occurs frequently with large-scale AI training workloads.
An exact location for the data center development has not been shared.
Brian Koo is described by the company's media release as an "LG Electronics scion." LG Electronics was founded in 1947 by Koo In-hwoi, who according to a report from The Korea Herald was Brian Koo's grandfather. Brian is also the eldest son of LS Group's founding chair, Koo Ja-hong.
Koo's career has thus far seen him founding various venture capital firms, including SFR.
He previously founded Harbor Pacific Capital, a venture capital firm in Hong Kong in 2009, and Formation 8, a venture capital firm with a presence in the US, China, Korea, and Singapore in 2011. His LinkedIn also suggests he founded another firm, Maum Capital Group in 2021.
Dr. Amin Badr-El-Din is also the founder and chairman of a private investment house - BADR Investments.
Fir Hills/SFR told DCD via email that the funding for the project would "be drawn from a group of international investors."
“This is more than just a technological milestone; it's a strategic leap forward for Korea's global technological leadership,” said Dr. Badr-El-Din. "We are incredibly proud to partner with Stock Farm Road and the Jeollanam-do government to build this crucial infrastructure, creating an unprecedented opportunity to build the foundation for next-generation AI.”
Koo added: “Having witnessed firsthand the immense technological capabilities of large Asian enterprises, I recognize the potential of this project to elevate Korea and the region to a new level of technological advancement and economic prosperity. This data center is not merely an infrastructure project, but the launchpad for a new digital industrial revolution.”
According to the company, the local government has provided "crucial support" for the project, including securing necessary permits and approvals. Fir Hills/SFR aims to establish similar AI infrastructure projects across Asia, Europe, and the US.
In 2023, the South Korean government announced plans for a 1GW data center campus in the Jeollanam-do Province. Another major project was unveiled in February 2024 for a 1GW data center in the Gangwon Province.
Jeollanam-do is in the very southwest of the country and is not home to a major data center market. Much of South Korea's data centers are located around Seoul, in the north of the country, with a small secondary market in Busan.
Massive AI infrastructure projects with equally hefty price tags seem to be something of a trend.
At the start of this year, OpenAI revealed "The Stargate Project," a new company set to invest $500 billion into AI infrastructure over the next four years. Those data centers would be exclusively used by OpenAI as it expands its generative AI compute portfolio. Of the total investment, $100bn was said to be deployed 'immediately,' although how realistic that goal is, is yet to be seen. The likes of Oracle, SoftBank, and Abu Dhabi's MGX are partnering on the venture, with $45bn currently set to be invested - although that requires OpenAI also raising money.
OpenAI's Sam Altman said earlier this week that, after Stargate, they might look to invest as much as "$5 trillion," saying: "If we get to do it again, which I hope we do, you'll be like 'you're raising $5 trillion for a cluster, what the f**k?' And we'll be like, 'well yeah, you know, gotta keep going.'"
