YIDO will push ahead with a data center development project, a core foundation of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry in the greater Seoul area.
YIDO said on the 13th that it has begun developing data centers with a total power intake capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) in the greater Seoul area. This project is the first large-scale real asset business unveiled since YIDO created its new AI infrastructure institutional sector that combines renewable energy and data centers.
This project brings together YIDO's distinctive alternative investment asset management (AMC) and operating capabilities. YIDO already has a range of track records and experience that go beyond simple construction or equity investment, spanning from the development stage of data centers to actual operations (O&M). Based on this, it led the entire process, including site selection, financing, and energy design, and applied a professional management model to maximize asset value.
The project has completed the recruitment of additional investors amid strong market interest. YIDO plans to move into full-scale project financing (PF).
A YIDO official said the company is also in talks with a major domestic conglomerate to lease the data center so that operations can run stably immediately after completion. The official said this would fundamentally block vacancy risk and secure predictable operating revenue.
YIDO plans to maximize operating profitability by resolving the biggest challenge for AI data centers—"power supply stability"—through its in-house energy business capabilities.
It also plans to apply know-how accumulated through its 70 MW Dangjin salt-damaged farmland solar and wind, and large-capacity battery energy storage system (BESS) businesses to data center power solutions. The company plans to realize a "self-reliant energy platform" that strengthens the stability of power supply and demand and improves operational efficiency.
YIDO is also seeking to enter the global market related to data centers by attracting investment from an infrastructure project fund backed by the government for environmental initiatives.
It is promoting data center investment and AMC and O&M businesses in key Southeast Asian markets such as Taiwan, Malaysia, and Thailand, in collaboration with a global data center specialist headquartered in Singapore.
Chief Executive Choi Junghun of YIDO said, "The essence of AI competition is not computation but power," adding, "We are developing data centers based on renewable power generation and ESS to build power-centric AI infrastructure and create long-term cash flows."