SK Telecom announced on November 27 that it has signed a Strategic Collaboration Agreement (SCA) with Amazon Web Services (AWS), together with SK AX, marking a major push into the AI cloud sector.
Under the agreement, the three companies will combine their respective strengths to accelerate innovation in AI infrastructure and services as well as cloud migration. SK Telecom will contribute advanced telecommunications and AI technology, SK AX will provide expertise in industry-specific AI implementation and operations, and AWS will supply its global cloud infrastructure and AI service capabilities to deliver differentiated AI cloud solutions.
To start, SKT and SK AX will leverage AWS services including Amazon Bedrock and Amazon SageMaker to build customized AI solutions for industries such as financial services, gaming, public sector, and startups. The aim is to help customers transition pilot AI projects into stable operational environments that can drive measurable business outcomes.
The partnership will also facilitate the creation of a “hybrid AI cloud.” By integrating AWS’ global infrastructure with SKT’s on-premise GPU resources, sensitive data can be processed securely on-site while still benefiting from cloud scalability. This approach is expected to particularly benefit security-critical sectors such as finance and manufacturing.
In addition, SKT will collaborate with members of the K-AI Alliance and other industry partners to establish an “AI Cloud Hub” that spans infrastructure, services, and business channels, enabling the co-development of industry-specific innovation models. SKT’s “AI Governance Portal” will set security standards and provide assessment tools so customers can build AI services safely and efficiently.
SK AX will architect industrial AI cloud stacks tailored to each sector’s data structure, security requirements, and operational environment, while delivering execution-ready models validated in real-world production. The company will also provide AI FinOps tools to help customers optimize cloud usage patterns, achieve the most cost-efficient infrastructure, and continuously reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) through real-time monitoring and improvement.
Through this SCA, SKT and SK AX will secure stable access to AWS cloud and AI services for the next five years, while enhancing their expertise and competitiveness as leading MSPs (Managed Service Providers).
“This collaboration will accelerate innovation in cloud-based AI services,” said Heo Min-hoe, Head of AI Cloud at SK Telecom. “We will continue expanding our capabilities as a competitive MSP.”
Shin Jang-su, Head of Cloud at SK AX, added, “This partnership marks a major turning point where each company’s strengths can create synergy and advance industry-wide AX innovation. We will deliver AI cloud environments with productivity, flexibility, cost-efficiency, and strong security for customers across manufacturing, finance, retail, gaming and beyond.”
AWS Korea Partner Lead Heo Jung-yeol commented, “By combining AWS’ global cloud and AI expertise with SKT’s network and AI capabilities and SK AX’s operational know-how, we are enabling customers to generate real, tangible business value.”
