Nscale Plans at Least Two AI Data Centers in South Korea

Nscale, a Nvidia-backed U.K. AI cloud provider and data center developer, plans at least two data centers in South Korea, with a Gumi project advancing through preconstruction approvals as the company explores sites elsewhere in the country.

The Gumi development in North Gyeongsang Province was initially planned as a consortium project with 300 megawatts of first-phase capacity. The plan has since shifted to two separate facilities, with Nscale and another participant each building one. Nscale’s project is still going through approvals before construction begins.

Nscale established Nscale Services KR in July to manage investment, development and operations in South Korea. The company is also exploring projects in other parts of the country through new construction, retrofits of existing facilities and leases at third-party data centers.

Other companies are pursuing data center capacity in South Korea. CoreWeave is advancing a project there. Amazon Web Services and SK Group expect their Ulsan AI data center to begin operating in 2027, while Microsoft has begun work on its third South Korean data center, in Busan.

South Korea is studying regional electricity pricing and a dedicated rate for AI data centers. Power costs, grid connections and approval efficiency remain factors in the country’s ability to attract further development.