South Korean heir Brian Koo is backing a $35 billion AI data center and infrastructure project.

South Korea is set to become home to the world's largest artificial intelligence data center, led by an investor group co-founded by LG heir Brian Koo and Amin Badr-El-Din, founder and CEO of Jordan-based BADR Investments. As the eldest son of LS Group's late founding chair Koo Ja-hong and grandson of Koo In-hwoi, the founder of LG Group, Brian Koo has never held an official position within LS Group nor retained any ownership stakes, remaining independent of the conglomerate's management despite persistent speculation about a potential future role.

Holding a BA in economics and an MBA from Stanford University, Koo has built a career as an entrepreneur and investor. In 2011, he founded the investment firm Formation Group and has been active in venture capital, making early investments in companies such as Oculus and Coupang.

The data center project will represent up to $35 billion in investment and will have a capacity of three gigawatts, making it one of the largest AI data facilities in the world. Construction is planned for a remote southwestern area with completion targeted for 2028, and investors have signed an agreement with South Jeolla Province for support in securing power and water resources. The three-gigawatt capacity is nearly three times the planned capacity of the Stargate data center complex in Texas that OpenAI and SoftBank Group are funding.

Global supply chain constraints and Nvidia's ongoing AI chip shortages may delay the construction of data centers worldwide, including this Korean project. Stock Farm Road has committed an initial investment of $10 billion, with the long-term goal of injecting up to $35 billion into the project.

Amid surging global AI demand, major data center developments are accelerating across the US, Europe, and emerging hubs such as Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and India, where lower land and labor costs provide a competitive edge. According to Jingwen Ong, Asia-Pacific research manager at DC Byte, "If costs can be controlled and construction proceeds swiftly, Korea's data center market can be highly competitive."