[CES 2022] SK seeks data center chip development with Qualcomm

South Korea-based SK Group is in talks with US chip maker Qualcomm to develop a new hyper speed memory chip tailored to data centers, its communication technology arm SK Square said Friday.

The new chips would run applications or computers for data center operation in order to meet soaring corporate demand amid the global chip shortages that could cause server delays, according to SK Square, the parent of memory chip maker SK hynix. The world‘s data center chip market could potentially grow by $18.77 billion by 2025, according to an estimate made by Technavio last year.

SK hynix, the world’s second-largest DRAM chip maker and fourth-largest NAND Flash maker, will likely take part in the development. SK hynix in October announced the industry‘s most advanced high-bandwidth memory chip.

It was part of the topics discussed when Park Jung-ho, who doubles as vice chairman of SK Square and SK hynix, met Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Cristiano Amon during CES 2022 this week to discuss room for collaboration on semiconductors, fifth-generational networks and information and communication technologies.

The meeting was also attended by telecommunication affiliate SK Telecom‘s Chief Executive Officer Ryu Young-sang, who met with his Qualcomm counterpart to discuss partnerships in the fields of metaverse and smart factories. SK Telecom During CES 2022, SK Telecom showcased energy-saving chip solutions run on artificial intelligence called Sapeon.

“Global collaboration is a must, not an option, amid heated competition in the global ICT industry,” Park said in a statement.

“SK‘s ICT Family will take the lead in innovation through barrier-free collaboration with global companies,” he added, referring to SK hynix, SK Square and SK Telecom as ICT Family.

SK Group is Korea‘s third-largest conglomerate by assets, dedicated to chips, ICT solutions, batteries, chemical and bioscience.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)