Key takeaways
▶ Six Samsung Group companies, including Samsung Electronics, said on the 29th that they will invest $1 billion in Helix Digital Infrastructure, a U.S. AI data center infrastructure company.
▶ Samsung Electronics will invest $500 million, while Samsung C&T, Samsung SDS, Samsung SDI, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance will contribute the other $500 million.
▶ Helix was established in June by U.S. investment firm KKR. It provides an integrated package for developing and operating hyperscale data centers, including power generation, transmission and distribution, and fiber-optic networks.
▶ Nvidia, the Kuwait Investment Authority and U.S. power company Vistra were founding investors. With Samsung’s investment, total commitments have exceeded $11 billion.
Samsung is investing in a U.S. AI data center infrastructure company.
Samsung said on the 29th that six companies—Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, Samsung SDS, Samsung SDI, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance—will invest $1 billion in Helix Digital Infrastructure, which was established by U.S. investment firm KKR.
Samsung Electronics will contribute $500 million, and the other five companies will provide the remaining $500 million. This is the first time Samsung has invested at the group level in an AI data center infrastructure company.
In its announcement, Samsung said the investment reflects its aim to secure next-generation AI leadership across the data center ecosystem. The company plans to extend its strengths in AI computing components into the development of infrastructure ecosystems.
What kind of company is Helix?
Helix is an AI infrastructure company established by KKR last June. It does more than develop and operate hyperscale data centers: it provides an integrated package that also includes power plants, transmission and distribution networks, and fiber-optic networks to supply electricity and connectivity to those centers.
As the expansion of AI data centers has made securing power their biggest bottleneck, Helix was set up to build data centers and power infrastructure together.
Its founding investors are KKR, the Kuwait Investment Authority, Nvidia and U.S. power company Vistra. Commitments exceeded $10 billion at launch and have since topped $11 billion with Samsung’s investment.
Samsung’s share is around 10% of the total. Nvidia is not just an investor; it is a strategic partner helping configure infrastructure to meet the specifications of its AI factories. Vistra is the preferred power supplier.
Helix is led by CEO Adam Selipsky, who previously ran Amazon Web Services (AWS). Waldemar Szlezak, KKR’s global head of digital infrastructure, is a co-founder and chief investment officer.
KKR has invested more than $75 billion globally in digital infrastructure and power, and around $9 billion in South Korea since 2009. It was also an early investor in SK Telecom’s AI data center subsidiary, SK Horizon. Last year, KKR invested 1.22 trillion won in Samsung SDS through convertible bonds.
Investing rather than building
Samsung’s move is not about becoming a data center operator. Instead of building and running AI data centers itself, Samsung said it will work with Helix to continue its business supplying data center components and solutions. The model is for Samsung affiliates to provide equipment and services for centers Helix builds around the world.
The six Samsung companies are investing together because each can contribute in a different area. Samsung Electronics makes semiconductors such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and language processing units (LPUs) for AI servers. Last year, it also acquired German HVAC company FläktGroup, adding data center cooling systems to its portfolio.
Samsung SDS could handle data center design and operations, Samsung SDI could provide batteries for data centers, and Samsung C&T could take on construction. Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance can provide long-term capital. Samsung said the investment would accelerate the global expansion of AI data centers through Helix and deepen cooperation among the participating companies.
CEO Selipsky said Samsung has unique capabilities that can benefit Helix and its customers, adding that the companies would work together to accelerate the deployment of next-generation digital infrastructure for hyperscalers worldwide. Hyperscalers are companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google that operate enormous data centers.
Investment in AI data centers
Investment in AI data centers is shifting from securing chips to securing power. Alibaba announced on the 22nd that it would add 20 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2032. In South Korea, too, companies with power resources are entering the data center business: SGC Energy, for example, is building a 300-megawatt data center next to a power plant.
Helix has built its business model around that trend, and Samsung has attached its component supply chain to Helix.
Samsung Electronics is generating revenue from memory for AI servers, but there is much more to sell inside a data center than memory. Few groups can provide cooling, batteries, construction and operations all under one roof. Helix’s roughly 10% stake gives Samsung a channel to offer that portfolio to the global market. However, it has not yet been determined where or how much Helix will build, or how much work Samsung affiliates will actually win.