Equinix Inc., has announced its second international business exchange (IBX) data centre in Seoul, named SL4, in Korea.  Scheduled to open in the first quarter (Q1) 2024, the new data centre will provide local and international businesses in Korea with the digital capabilities they need to accelerate their artificial intelligence (AI) adoption.

According to the Equinix 2023 Global Tech Trends Survey, 72 per cent of IT leaders in Korea believe that their existing IT infrastructure is not fully prepared for the demands of AI technology. Increasingly AI hardware requires a lot of power, specialised cooling, and specialised networking. To deal with these problems, enterprises need hybrid multicloud architectures that include cloud, colocation and on-premises data centres for running AI workloads at the core and edge and progressing enormous data sets through workflows.

With the launch of Equinix SL4, enterprises in Korea will have access to a rich ecosystem of companies, cloud adjacency, global interconnected data ingestion locations, and strategic partnerships with market-leading AI infrastructure providers through Platform Equinix and its on-demand digital services.

Commenting on the development, Chris Jang, managing director, Equinix, Korea, said, “As AI technology continues to advance at a remarkable pace, it has become increasingly important for businesses to transform their IT infrastructure. At Equinix, we are committed to supporting our customers in Korea by providing them with interconnected digital ecosystems and robust digital infrastructure. By expanding our digital platform with SL4, businesses can efficiently connect with tech partners in ecosystems and advanced AI infrastructure.”

To be housed inside its xScaleTM data centre SL2x located in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Equinix SL4 will provide a capacity of 475 cabinets. Directly connected to Equinix’s first IBX data centre in Seoul, SL1, through low-latency dark fiber, SL4 will enable customers to securely interconnect with a rich ecosystem of leading cloud service providers, global networks, content delivery network providers, local carriers, internet service providers (ISPs), and internet exchanges such as Korea Internet Neutral Exchange (KINX) and Sejong Telecom’s Korea Internet Exchange (KRIX).