Korea's No.1 carrier pivoting into AI infrastructure
SK Telecom
SK Telecom is Korea's largest mobile operator, with 5G subscribers above 75% of its base. On that connectivity business it is stacking AI data centers, a GPU cloud (GPUaaS) and its own AI assistant A-dot, moving from telco to AI-infrastructure company. As an SK Group affiliate it is the domestic bridge in an AI value chain that runs through SK hynix HBM and NVIDIA GPUs. Unlike a pure consumer name, here a telecom wires into the AI chain.
017670.KS Updated Sep 4, 2026 5 AI consumers· 4 recurring
Per the valuechain.wiki graph, SK Telecom is directly linked to 3 companies (2 supply, 0 revenue, 1 investment relationships) and reaches 37 companies within two hops; the links are backed by 5 dated sources, 1 of them primary filings (as of 2026-09-04).
Financials & Segments
- Total revenue · FY2025 consolidated revenue KRW 17.10T (-4.7%), operating profit KRW 1.07T (-41%, hit by the 2025 SIM-hack incident). 5G subscribers 75%+.
- Customer concentration · The only Korean-consumer-batch node that stacks AI infrastructure (GPUaaS, SK hynix HBM, NVIDIA GPUs) on its telecom core. The 2025 SIM-hack cut ~KRW 800B of revenue.
- Segments · Wireless & wired (MNO) · Enterprise & cloud · AI data center & AI · Media
Revenue from
- 이동통신 가입자 (MNO) High confidence· Revenue 17.1조원 · FY2025 · consolidated revenue
Wireless and wired telecom core, with 5G subscribers above 75%; the base of its high-dividend, low-volatility cash flow. - 엔터프라이즈·AI 데이터센터 (GPUaaS) Medium confidence
Enterprise and cloud (+30%) plus AI data centers (GPUaaS, A-dot), extending telecom into AI infrastructure.Confirms EN The Korea Herald Published Jan 13, 2025: SKT GPUaaS runs on NVIDIA H100, first H200 in Korea
Pays to
- NVIDIA High confidence
Launched GPUaaS on NVIDIA H100 and introduced H200 first in Korea; the SK Group AI Factory runs 50,000+ NVIDIA GPUs with a gigawatt-scale Ulsan AI data center. SKT is an NVIDIA Cloud Partner.Confirms EN The Korea Herald Published Jan 13, 2025: SKT GPUaaS runs on NVIDIA H100, first H200 in Korea - 주파수·네트워크 설비 (비공개) Medium confidence
Spectrum fees and base-station/network capex. - SK hynix Medium confidence
SK Group affiliate collaboration: a Jan 2025 CES agreement with SK hynix and Penguin Solutions for joint AI data-center R&D, with SK hynix HBM in SKT's Pangyo AI data-center testbed (not a shareholding; SK hynix's largest holder is SK Square).Confirms EN SK hynix Published Jan 10, 2025: SK hynix partners with SKT and Penguin Solutions to drive AI data center business
Investments
- Anthropic High confidence
Invested in Anthropic for a 2% stake in 2023, since diluted to ~0.3% through subsequent funding rounds.Confirms KO The Electronic Times (ETNews) Published Aug 13, 2023: SKT invests $100 million in US AI firm Anthropic to co-develop multilingual LLMConfirms EN SK Telecom (press release) Published Aug 13, 2023: SKT Invests USD 100 Million in Anthropic and Joins Forces with the Company to Promote AI Innovation
Value-chain ripple (2 tiers)
Following node-to-node links up to 2 tiers; each firm is shown once, at its nearest tier.
| Company | Chain | '21 | '22 | '23 | '24 | '25 | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SK Telecom | node | +7.9 | -12 | +15.8 | +15.5 | +37.5 | +29.7 |
| NVIDIA | benef1 | +125.5 | -50.3 | +239 | +171.2 | +38.9 | +23.7 |
| Micron Technology | benef2 | +24.2 | -45.9 | +71.9 | -1 | +240.2 | +256.4 |
| Nan Ya PCB | benef2 | +110.6 | -46.7 | -0.5 | -38.3 | +188.2 | +172.1 |
| Nebius Group | benef2 | · | · | · | · | +202.2 | +170.5 |
| Kioxia | benef2 | · | · | · | · | +1082.1 | +155 |
| Ibiden | benef2 | +30.4 | -19.6 | +51.6 | -38.6 | +261 | +149.3 |
| Lumentum | benef2 | +11.6 | -50.7 | +0.5 | +60.1 | +339.1 | +139.1 |
| Unimicron | benef2 | +133.5 | -30.2 | +35.2 | -19.7 | +175.7 | +138.8 |
| ASE Technology | benef2 | +38.3 | -12.8 | +60.9 | +10.1 | +65.6 | +135.3 |
| Murata Manufacturing | benef2 | -14 | -11.7 | +24.7 | -16.5 | +29.9 | +131.5 |
| Astera Labs | benef2 | · | · | · | · | +25.6 | +86.6 |
| SK hynix | benef2 | -0.4 | -25.6 | +53.9 | +48.6 | +361.1 | +81.6 |
| Corning | benef2 | +5.9 | -11.6 | -1.2 | +60.6 | +87.8 | +77.2 |
| Keysight Technologies | benef2 | +56.3 | -17.2 | -7 | +1 | +26.5 | +61 |
| Samsung Electronics | benef2 | -9 | -14.2 | +20.9 | -26.4 | +212.9 | +59.7 |
| Wistron | benef2 | +7.9 | +9.7 | +272.7 | -1.6 | +22.7 | +57.3 |
| Coherent | benef2 | -10 | -48.6 | +24 | +117.6 | +94.8 | +52.7 |
| Delta Electronics | benef2 | -3.4 | +10.4 | -0.3 | +59.2 | +183.8 | +50.4 |
| Pegatron | benef2 | -5.9 | +0.6 | +35.3 | +21.2 | -23.8 | +43 |
| TSMC | benef2 | +12.1 | -36.7 | +42.3 | +92.6 | +55.9 | +41.9 |
| onsemi | benef2 | +107.5 | -8.2 | +33.9 | -24.5 | -14.1 | +37.4 |
| Monolithic Power | benef2 | +35.5 | -27.8 | +79.8 | -5.6 | +54.5 | +35.5 |
| Analog Devices | benef2 | +21 | -4.9 | +23.4 | +8.8 | +29.8 | +34.8 |
| Eoptolink | benef2 | -10.1 | -27.7 | +136.6 | +197 | +368.8 | +29.1 |
| InnoLight | benef2 | -30.7 | -18.3 | +253.7 | +12 | +468.1 | +25.6 |
| Digital Realty | benef2 | +30.7 | -41 | +39.9 | +35.9 | -10.1 | +23.4 |
| Amphenol | benef2 | +34.4 | -12.5 | +30.8 | +40.7 | +95.3 | +22.7 |
| ABB | benef2 | +23.9 | +7.3 | +18.9 | +39 | +36.1 | +18.4 |
| Amazon | benef2 | +2.4 | -49.6 | +80.9 | +44.4 | +5.2 | +12 |
| BlackRock | benef2 | +29.4 | -20.4 | +17.9 | +29.3 | +6.6 | +6 |
| Luxshare Precision | benef2 | -11.9 | -30.2 | -21.2 | +58.8 | +29.3 | +5.6 |
| King Yuan Electronics (KYEC) | benef2 | +26.7 | -7.7 | +132.4 | +38.6 | +171 | -6.7 |
| TE Connectivity | benef2 | +35.1 | -27.7 | +24.6 | +3.5 | +61.1 | -7.3 |
| Recursion Pharmaceuticals | benef2 | · | -55 | +27.9 | -31.4 | -39.5 | -11.2 |
| BYD Electronics | benef2 | -56.1 | +16 | -0.4 | +60.6 | -19.4 | -24.1 |
YTD as of 2026-09-04 · source: Yahoo Finance
SK Telecom operates across Korea's No.1 carrier pivoting into AI infrastructure. It stayed steadily positive in recent years and is +29.7% in 2026. The supply side (avg +52.7%) leads the stock (+29.7%), with spending rippling down to suppliers first. Among connected nodes the furthest ahead is SK hynix (+81.6%) and the furthest behind is NVIDIA (+23.7%). If chain logic explains the gap, the laggard is the next propagation candidate; if not, the link itself deserves a second look. Unlike a pure consumer name, here a telecom wires into the AI chain.
Analysis generated from returns as of 2026-09-04Analyst ratings
Consensus: Buy 2 · Hold 1 · Sell 0 · Avg. target ₩111,000 · Price ₩92,500 (09-04) · Upside +20%
| Broker | Rating | Target | Published | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KB Securities | Buy | ₩150,000 | Jun 11, 2026 | Report ↗ |
| Yuanta Securities Korea | BUY | ₩118,000 | Apr 20, 2026 | Report ↗ |
| BNK Investment & Securities | Hold | ₩65,000 | Feb 2, 2026 | Report ↗ |
Korean brokers have sharply raised targets through 2026 on AI data-center and GPUaaS monetization (KB KRW 150,000, Yuanta KRW 118,000), while BNK stays at a more conservative Hold.
Analyses covering this node
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