National AI Data Center (Photo courtesy of Gwangju City)
SEOUL, August 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The global market for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers is expected to expand at a rapid clip, growing at an average annual rate of 28.3% over the next five years and reaching $60.5 billion by 2030, according to a new report from South Korea’s Software Policy & Research Institute.
Unlike conventional data centers, AI data centers are equipped with high-performance GPUs and advanced cooling and power systems to support the computational intensity of generative AI and large language models (LLMs). As AI models grow increasingly complex and resource-intensive, major economies are pushing to secure AI infrastructure as a strategic national priority.
In the United States, both the Biden and Trump administrations have maintained policies facilitating AI data center construction on federal land, alongside renewable energy initiatives. Big Tech players are also ramping up investments.
Microsoft announced plans to spend $80 billion in fiscal 2025 to expand its AI data centers globally, while Google is investing $7 billion to expand AI and cloud infrastructure in Iowa and developing its own Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for machine learning workloads. Amazon Web Services (AWS) has pledged $100 billion toward vertically integrated AI infrastructure and next-generation data centers.
Research firms are forecasting explosive growth. Fortune Business Insights estimates the AI data center market will grow from $17.7 billion this year to $93.6 billion by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.8%. Grand View Research projects the market to reach $60.5 billion by 2030, up from $13.6 billion in 2024.
South Korean tech giants are joining the race. SK Telecom plans to build an AI data center in Ulsan, while Naver has announced a similar initiative in Morocco.
The report underscores that as geopolitical tensions—particularly the U.S.-China tech rivalry and semiconductor export controls—intensify, securing resilient and autonomous AI infrastructure has become a defining issue for national competitiveness.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
