Six key affiliates of South Korea’s Samsung Group—Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, Samsung SDS, Samsung SDI, Samsung Life Insurance, and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance—have jointly committed $1 billion to Helix Digital Infrastructure, an AI infrastructure enterprise launched in June 2026 by global investment firm KKR.
Helix is structured as an end-to-end infrastructure provider catering to hyperscalers confronting surging compute and energy demands. Its operational scope encompasses the entire AI delivery chain: hyperscale data center development and operations, baseload and flexible power generation, transmission and distribution networks, and fiber-optic connectivity.
The venture is led by former Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Adam Selipsky and is supported by KKR’s global infrastructure unit, which includes approximately 170 professionals. Alongside Samsung and KKR, founding investors in Helix include the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), NVIDIA, and U.S. power generation company Vistra.
Addressing the Power Bottleneck in AI Expansion
As artificial intelligence workloads proliferate globally, modern data centers are shifting from static facility assets into foundational industrial platforms. These facilities support complex commercial models, such as GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS), Sovereign AI frameworks, and advanced colocation services.
However, escalating server density and processing loads have made power procurement and delivery the primary constraint on new data center deployment. Helix’s core operating model addresses this bottleneck by coupling compute facility development directly with dedicated energy sourcing. The platform plans to secure baseload and flexible power generation capacity via direct capital deployment and partnerships with major energy developers, including founding investor Vistra.
For Samsung, participating in Helix represents a shift from supplying discrete components to taking a direct stake in broader system- and facility-level infrastructure planning.
Strategic Alignment Across Samsung Affiliates
The consortium of Samsung affiliates aligns multiple proprietary capabilities with Helix’s target infrastructure stack:
- Samsung Electronics (Semiconductors & Cooling): The Device Solutions (DS) Division provides memory and advanced semiconductor products. Concurrently, the Device eXperience (DX) Division—utilizing FläktGroup, the data center HVAC subsidiary it acquired in 2025—supplies both conventional air cooling systems and liquid-cooling coolant distribution units (CDUs) across a manufacturing footprint spanning 14 production sites globally.
- Samsung C&T (EPC Execution): The Engineering & Construction Group provides engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) execution for both hyperscale physical facilities and power generation projects.
- Samsung SDS (IT Operations & GPUaaS): Provides data center architecture, management, and operational services. SDS currently runs facilities with Korea’s lowest power usage effectiveness (PUE) ratings—deployed at its own sites and the Korea AI Computing Center (KOACC)—while managing active GPU-as-a-Service operations.
- Samsung SDI (Backup Power & Storage): Supplies high-output uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and battery backup unit (BBU) technologies designed for continuous 24/7 server stability.
- Samsung Life & Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (Financing): Provide direct institutional capital backing the joint consortium’s financial commitments.
Through this syndicate, Samsung affiliates intend to accelerate international AI deployment timelines alongside Helix’s founding partners while integrating their manufacturing, engineering, and IT operations directly into the emerging AI infrastructure supply chain.