LG CNS said on the 5th it will speed up its push into the artificial intelligence (AI) data center market by unveiling a small data center, the "AI Box," that houses 576 graphics processing units (GPUs) in a single container.
The AI Box is a compact AI data center that concentrates the core infrastructure needed to run a data center in a container. Its biggest advantage is a short deployment time because there is no need to construct a separate building. While a traditional data center takes about two years to build, the AI Box, based on a standardized package model, can be deployed within six months.
It can also be operated on a single-container basis, allowing for expansion into a hyperscale AI data center by gradually combining dozens of containers. LG CNS said, "Customers can flexibly scale their infrastructure as needed while reducing the burden of initial investment."
Leveraging its design-build-operate (DBO) capabilities for data centers, LG CNS integrated an AI platform, power and cooling infrastructure, and IT equipment into the AI Box. It applied high-quality cooling and power facilities in a package, including the chilled water distribution unit (CDU), precision air conditioner, and chiller from LG Electronics, and UPS batteries from LG Energy Solution, optimizing the system for high-power, high-density AI environments.
The AI Box consists of an electrical room responsible for power infrastructure (UPS, transformer, power distribution board) and a computer room that operates IT equipment (servers/GPUs, cooling system). With an external generator, battery room, and chiller, it enables stable power supply and efficient thermal management. Each AI Box provides 1.2 megawatts (MW) of server power (IT load) and can hold up to 576 GPUs.
A company official said, "As Generative AI spreads and demand for AI data centers grows rapidly, it is becoming crucial to provide an environment that can reliably operate high-power, high-density infrastructure beyond simply accommodating servers," adding, "Existing large data centers face limitations in responding quickly to surging AI demand because securing land, obtaining permits, and designing power and cooling take a long time, but the AI Box solves these problems."
LG CNS plans to build the first AI Box at the Busan Global Cloud Data Center site. It will create a large-scale campus by clustering about 50 AI Boxes on a 27,179-square-meter site (about 8,221 pyeong) to meet AI infrastructure demand in Korea.
Cho Heon-hyeok, executive director in charge of the data center business at LG CNS, said, "The AI Box, which provides an integrated offering from AI servers to power, cooling, and operations, will lead a new paradigm in the data center business," adding, "Based on success stories in the domestic market, we will expand into global markets such as Southeast Asia and North America."
According to market research firm Fortune Business Insights, the global AI data center market is expected to grow to about 700 trillion won by 2030.