Gates Holds Talks with SK, Hyundai on Nuclear Power Collaboration, Targeting AI Power Needs

August 14th - According to South Korean media, Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and founder of the next-generation nuclear company TerraPower, held a series of meetings on August 14th with SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won, HD Hyundai Group Chairman Chung Kee-sun, and other key figures in the South Korean government and business community to discuss cooperation in the field of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) power supply. During his meeting with Choi Tae-won, Gates discussed solutions to the increasing power demand driven by the proliferation of AI data centers, the development direction of the next-generation nuclear industry, and the potential for US-Korea nuclear cooperation.

SK and SK Innovation jointly invested a total of $250 million in TerraPower in 2022, becoming the company's second-largest shareholder. On the same day, SK Innovation signed a business cooperation agreement with TerraPower for a sodium-cooled Small Modular Reactor (sodium SMR). Gates also met with Chung Kee-sun and Lee Han-yul, CEO of Hyundai Engineering & Construction, to discuss the progress of the previously signed commercial agreements. In May of this year, the three companies agreed to collaborate to promote the commercialization of sodium-cooled reactors and establish a division of labor framework.