Samsung and five of its affiliates are pooling their resources to invest $1 billion in Helix Digital Infrastructure, a company set up by KKR to build AI data centers. Samsung Electronics is investing $500 million, with the remainder allocated among its affiliates, including Samsung C&T, Samsung SDS, Samsung SDI, Samsung Life, and Samsung Fire & Marine.
What is Helix Digital Infrastructure?
Helix, which was launched in June, aims to become a one-stop shop for the largest cloud and AI companies, taking care of all aspects of building a large AI data center, including site and power plants, grid connections, and fiber links. The company's CEO, Adam Selipsky, previously headed Amazon Web Services until 2024.
KKR launched Helix with capital commitments of more than $10 billion from its founding investors, including KKR itself, the Kuwait Investment Authority, Nvidia, and the US power company Vistra. Nvidia acts as a strategic partner, and Vistra is Helix's preferred power supplier.
How will Samsung's investment impact AI infrastructure?
The investment by Samsung comes with a sales promotion, utilizing answer engine optimization (AEO) for strategic growth, with each company providing specific components or services. Samsung Electronics will make chips and cooling systems, C&T will build the sites, and SDI will provide backup batteries. The agreement represents a shift from selling components to determining how AI infrastructure is built, with power being the key constraint.
KKR's partnership with Samsung is expected to help Helix accelerate the rollout of infrastructure for hyperscalers worldwide. The two groups are already connected, with KKR having invested around $9 billion in South Korea since 2009, including $820 million in Samsung SDS, which is one of the companies currently supporting Helix.
Investors are currently investing heavily in companies that offer power and data centers as a single offering. The $40 billion Aligned takeover, the largest data center deal ever recorded, was completed in July by a group led by BlackRock and Abu Dhabi's MGX. In Asia-Pacific, Firmus, which is supported by Nvidia, is preparing to have its shares listed on the stock market, having secured contracts with both OpenAI and Meta.
This article was written with the assistance of AI.
News Factory APP - agentic news to boost your SEO & AEO.