SK Telecom成立跨部门特别工作组Hy-TF推进与SK海力士AI数字孪生及B2B合作，属内部组织调整无新增订单或财务指引

South Korean telecommunications provider SK Telecom (SKT) has reportedly established Hy-TF, a task force dedicated to AI collaboration with SK Hynix, to upgrade its digital-twin and data-platform businesses and develop new B2B services.

Credit: Jerry Chen
A task force under SKT's AI unit
According to ET News , SKT recently launched Hy-TF under the company-in-company (CIC) responsible for its AI business. Hy-TF is an interim internal organization, formed without a formal corporate restructuring, that consists of more than 20 senior executives and department-head-level managers. The outlet reported that the head of the AI CIC is leading the task force directly.
Fab digital twins reach commercialization
Hy-TF's core mission is to continue upgrading SKT and SK Hynix's manufacturing-site automation business. SKT uses AI technologies such as Nvidia Omniverse to build digital twins at SK Hynix wafer fabs, supporting the semiconductor company's goal of developing autonomous factories by 2030.
The companies' wafer-fab digital-twin collaboration has entered the commercialization phase. According to Financial News , SK Hynix completed a proof of concept (PoC) with SKT in 2025 and subsequently began commercializing the technology in stages.
Notably, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang named SKT a key partner for Nvidia's Physical AI in manufacturing during his keynote at GTC Taipei in June 2026, following GTC 2026 in March.
Nvidia ties span the group
The digital-twin work grew out of a broader SK Group deal with Nvidia. At the APEC Summit in Gyeongju on October 31, 2025, Nvidia and SK Group announced plans for an AI factory with more than 50,000 Nvidia GPUs, with the first phase slated for completion by late 2027. Under that plan, SKT, an Nvidia Cloud Provider, is building an industrial AI cloud with an initial deployment of more than 2,000 Nvidia RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs. The cloud runs Nvidia Omniverse workloads for SK Hynix's semiconductor manufacturing, fab digital twins, and internal AI agents, while SKT is developing its A.X foundation model to power those agents, according to Nvidia.
On June 8, 2026, SKT announced a further partnership with Nvidia to build gigawatt-scale AI infrastructure, starting with its first AI factory in Korea in 2027, Edaily reported. Under the arrangement, SKT provides AI infrastructure and operations, while Nvidia gains access to SK Hynix's high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and SKT's AI factory expertise. The companies also formed a joint task force to research computing architecture that improves GPU and memory performance together, and will continue work on Omniverse-based digital twins for SK Hynix manufacturing.
Later that month, SKT said it would invest KRW738 billion (US$480 million) for a 0.9% stake in SK Hynix NAND Product Solutions, SK Hynix's US-based subsidiary, Light Reading reported. SKT's filing said the investment is meant to secure synergies with its AI business.
From parent company to sister firm
SKT's ties to the chipmaker go back more than a decade. In February 2012, SKT completed the purchase of 146.1 million Hynix shares for about KRW3.37 trillion, giving it a 21.05% stake, according to its regulatory filing. Hynix Semiconductor was renamed SK Hynix the following month.
SKT held that stake until November 2021, when it spun off SK Square, an ICT investment company, and transferred its SK Hynix shares to the new entity. SK Square held 20.50% of SK Hynix as of March 31, 2026, according to SK Hynix's US regulatory filings, making SKT and SK Hynix sister companies under the SK Group umbrella rather than parent and subsidiary.
SKT reorganizes around AI
Hy-TF sits within the AI CIC that SKT unveiled in September 2025 to consolidate its AI operations under a single structure. Led by SKT CEO Ryu Young-sang, the unit brings together the company's Adot personal assistant, AI data center business, AI R&D and global AI partner investments, TelecomTV reported. SKT plans to invest KRW5 trillion (about US$3.55 billion) over five years and aims for more than KRW5 trillion in annual AI revenue by 2030. The reorganization followed a 2025 data breach affecting more than 23 million SKT customers.
According to ET News , Hy-TF is intended to turn experience gained from supporting SK Hynix's fabs into new B2B businesses, including manufacturing, as part of that 2030 revenue goal.
Data platform comes next
SKT also plans to commercialize an AI data platform for manufacturing. The company is upgrading SK Hynix's data integration and utilization systems to build a platform that supports broader AI adoption and improves manufacturing productivity. Hy-TF will further develop plans to expand the use of AI data and improve operational efficiency.
Semiconductor wafer fabs involve complex equipment and vast volumes of data, making them challenging environments for AI deployment. Hy-TF is expected to leverage SKT's full-stack AI capabilities to support SK Hynix's AI transformation while exploring and developing new business models for manufacturing and other industries with strong demand for AI.
An SKT official said Hy-TF is primarily evaluating new business development and collaboration opportunities internally, adding that its specific direction has not yet been determined.