Helix Digital, an AI infrastructure developer backed by KKR, said on Tuesday that Samsung has committed $1 billion to support the company’s global expansion in building data centers and technology infrastructure.
According to an official statement, $500 million of the amount will be provided by Samsung Electronics. Five group subsidiaries will fund the remaining $500 million: Samsung C&T (construction and trading), Samsung SDS (IT services), Samsung SDI (batteries), Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (insurance). This composition indicates the Samsung group is leveraging capabilities from several of its divisions for this project.
Strategic shift
The investment marks a significant change in Samsung’s approach. The group, the world’s largest memory chip maker, wants to move beyond the traditional role of supplying components and chips and take a direct part in designing and building massive data center systems. These systems include power solutions, engineering manpower, cooling systems, and advanced network connectivity.
Helix; $10 billion capital
Helix is led by Adam Selipsky, the former CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS). The company said Samsung’s commitment is added to capital that had previously exceeded $10 billion committed to Helix’s strategy. Its founding investors, in addition to KKR, include the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), Nvidia, and the American energy company Vistra.
Helix focuses on investing in, building, and operating the infrastructure needed for AI-from hyperscale data centers to power generation and transmission and fiber and network connectivity assets. The company expects that by relying on Nvidia’s technologies and Samsung’s energy technology and storage capabilities, it will accelerate the development and delivery of AI infrastructure.
Technology and capital combination
The goal of this collaboration is to combine Samsung’s advanced technologies with KKR’s experience in digital assets and energy infrastructure to meet the growing global demand for compute capacity and advanced data centers, especially for generative AI applications. Samsung said the investment will help speed the global rollout of AI data centers and deepen cooperation among the participating companies.
Observers believe the direct integration of Samsung’s solutions into critical data center projects in North America and elsewhere will create an important competitive advantage for the group and strengthen its position as an essential player in building the digital infrastructure of the future.
Background of cooperation with KKR
This is not the first financial interaction between Samsung and KKR. Samsung SDS previously raised ₩1.22 trillion (about $820 million) from KKR by issuing convertible bonds. KKR has so far invested over $75 billion in digital and energy infrastructure worldwide and has spent roughly $9 billion in South Korea since 2009.
Reuters reports that with Samsung’s entry, Helix aims to confront increasing competition in the AI infrastructure market-a market where not only data center deployment but also supplying their required power has become highly important.