SK Telecom reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of 4.4 trillion won (US$2.99 billion), supported by recovering wireless sales and rapid expansion in its AI data center business.
Compared with a year earlier, revenue declined 1.4%, operating income fell 5.3%, and net income dropped 12.5%.
However, handset subscribers increased by 210,000, while mobile service revenue rose 1.7% from the previous quarter, signaling improving telecom demand.
The company’s standout growth came from its AI data center (AIDC) segment, which generated 131.4 billion won (US$89.4 million) in revenue, up 89.3% year on year. SK Telecom linked the rise to stronger data center utilization and growing demand for GPU-as-a-service offerings.
Key Highlights
SK Telecom’s AI data center revenue surged 89.3% year on year in Q1 2026 The company plans 1GW-scale hyperscale AI infrastructure across South Korea SK Telecom is expanding globally with sovereign AI, GPU cloud services, and AI standards leadership
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The growth aligns with SK Telecom’s broader “AI Native” strategy, introduced at MWC26, where the company outlined plans for 1-gigawatt-scale hyperscale AI data center capacity across South Korea.
It is also working with OpenAI on a planned AI data center in southwest Korea. Additionally, SK Telecom aims to build a sovereign AI foundation model exceeding 1 trillion parameters.
The company is collaborating through the Global Telco AI Alliance (GTAA) alongside Deutsche Telekom, e&, Singtel, and SoftBank to develop telecom-specific AI models using pooled industry data. GTAA members collectively serve 1.3 billion subscribers across 50 countries.
Beyond connectivity, SK Telecom is positioning itself as an AI infrastructure provider through technologies like the Haein GPU cluster and Petasus AI Cloud virtualization platform, which it plans to market globally.
Also Read: SK Telecom Backs 15 AI & ESG Startups at MWC26
The company is also exploring AI data center projects in Vietnam tied to LNG power infrastructure and recently secured ITU-T international standard approval for its AI data center interconnection architecture.