POSCO, GS join forces to tap $2.1tn AI infrastructure market

South Korea’s POSCO and GS Group are joining forces to tap the artificial intelligence data center (AIDC) market, combining POSCO’s steel materials and solutions with GS’s overseas sales network and construction capabilities.

According to industry sources on Monday, POSCO and GS are pursuing business cooperation in the AIDC sector, with plans to formalize the partnership within this month.

Despite growing concerns over tighter regulations on data center construction following the recent U.S. midterm elections, the conglomerates aim to strengthen their competitiveness and explore new growth markets to offset sluggish demand in their traditional businesses.

According to global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co., investment in global AI data center construction and development between 2025 and 2030 is estimated at $800 billion, covering land, materials, and site development.

Spending on supporting infrastructure, including power generation, transmission, and cooling systems, is projected to reach $1.3 trillion.

These markets offer significant opportunities for POSCO and GS, which have strengths in materials and energy supply.

Although the specific scope of cooperation and target projects have yet to be finalized, potential areas include supplying specialized steel products for data centers and power infrastructure and identifying overseas projects, leveraging the companies’ existing business capabilities.

POSCO established its Future Demand Development Office in July as part of efforts to transform itself into a specialized steelmaker offering materials and solutions for AI and power-related industries.

The office serves as a control tower, integrating POSCO’s entire product portfolio to meet demand across high-growth industries, moving beyond its previous product-by-product approach to market development.

Last month, POSCO set up separate project teams for AIDC demand development and specialized energy storage system (ESS) solutions. It also established a collaboration framework with group affiliates, including POSCO International Corp., POSCO E&C Co. and POSCO A&C Co.

POSCO offers a wide range of materials and solutions, from structural steel for buildings to cold-rolled steel sheets and highly corrosion-resistant PosMAC steel for server racks, stainless steel for cooling pipes and electrical steel sheets for transformers.

The company recently developed PosMAC Shield, an electromagnetic shielding steel sheet that combines electrical steel and coated steel sheets.

GS Group, meanwhile, has extensive capabilities across the data center construction value chain, including overseas supply chains, construction, cooling and power infrastructure, mainly through affiliates GS Global Corp., GS E&C Corp., and GS Caltex Corp.

GS Global opened a Houston office in Texas in August, expanding its U.S. sales network alongside its existing Los Angeles office. The company is building a business network connecting local engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors with steel processors and distributors.

It plans to step up efforts to secure orders and identify new business opportunities next year.

GS E&C is developing an integrated business model spanning investment, development, construction and operations, drawing on its experience with projects such as the Anyang Epoch Data Center.

GS Caltex has strengthened its cooling technology capabilities by launching a specialized cooling fluid designed to dissipate heat from data center servers.

“The two groups could generate significant synergies by developing a business model that jointly offers materials, processing, and delivery schedules from the early stages of project design,” said an industry official.