Cho Joo-wan, the Chief Executive Officer of LG Electronics, held a meeting with Khalid Alfali, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Investment, at Seoul's Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu district. Their discussion centered on potential collaboration opportunities for AI data center cooling technologies in Neom City.
This partnership with the Saudi government could serve as a pivotal moment for LG Electronics to strengthen its position in the Middle Eastern data center sector.
LG Electronics first began working with Saudi Arabia's Shaker Group in 1995, and later formed a local joint venture in 2006, creating the groundwork for air conditioning manufacturing operations.
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During this recent meeting, LG Electronics also demonstrated its interest in broadening collaboration beyond air conditioning and household appliances to include next-generation data infrastructure initiatives, including the 'Oxagon' project, which is a cutting-edge industrial complex within Neom City.
LG Electronics has recently entered into an agreement with Data Vault, a Saudi data infrastructure firm, to provide thermal management systems for what will be the Middle East's largest AI data center, planned for construction in Neom City.
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Datavolt operates as a developer and manager of massive data centers across multiple regions including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, India, and Uzbekistan, with its partnership with LG Electronics experiencing significant growth.
Chief Executive Officer Cho Joo-wan has identified the Middle East as central to their global South approach, stating, "The Middle East and Africa represent government-led large-scale development initiatives with substantial potential."
He previously demonstrated optimism by declaring, "Should all cooling technologies be incorporated into Datavolt's data center operations, revenue in the trillions becomes achievable."
This year, LG Electronics has secured contracts for data center cooling technology across the Middle East, United States, and Southeast Asia. Industry experts suggest the company is establishing groundwork to dominate the international market through building expertise in data center infrastructure, which serves as a supporting industry within the artificial intelligence ecosystem.
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"Saudi Arabia is making large-scale government-led investments to become an AI hub in the Middle East," an LG Electronics official said. "LG Electronics' preemptive acquisition of the Oxagon project will serve as a strategic foothold for expanding business opportunities in the Middle East."