Koo Kwang-mo's first meeting with Satya Nadella comes as LG deepens ties with Microsoft and Nvidia
LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo has taken the group’s relationship with Microsoft to a new level, agreeing with CEO Satya Nadella on a broader artificial intelligence partnership spanning data-center infrastructure, workplace AI and physical AI.
The agreement came as two LG affiliates joined Nvidia’s newly launched AI factory supplier program on the same day.
Koo met Nadella on Monday at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, in what was their first meeting, according to LG. Senior executives from LG Electronics, LG Uplus, LG CNS and LG Sciencepark also attended, signaling a group-level approach to businesses that cut across several affiliates.
The most immediate commercial focus is AI data-center infrastructure. LG and Microsoft plan to explore opportunities for the Korean group to supply cooling, power and IT systems as Microsoft expands its global data-center network. Near-term discussions will center on high-capacity cooling equipment, while the two sides also plan to examine prefabricated data centers that can be built and expanded more quickly through preassembled modules.
LG has not announced any purchase orders, project locations, supply volumes or contract values, so the agreement remains a framework for future business rather than a confirmed equipment deal.
Even so, the relationship has moved beyond where it stood late last year. LG and LS affiliates held an AI data-center technology showcase at Microsoft’s Redmond campus in December 2025, presenting cooling systems, battery storage, power equipment and modular data-center technologies. At the time, the companies were still in exploratory talks and no concrete agreement had been finalized.
The new partnership now reaches beyond infrastructure. LG plans to introduce Microsoft AI and cloud products, including Copilot and Microsoft 365 E7: The Frontier Suite, across its global office workforce. The companies will also work together on physical AI, with LG using Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure to train models for manufacturing, logistics and mobility. Data generated at industrial sites would then be fed back into model training through what LG calls a “data flywheel.”
LG’s broader Big Tech push was also visible in its Nvidia relationship. LG Electronics and LG Energy Solution were named to Nvidia’s newly launched DSX Ready program on Monday, a qualification scheme for power and cooling equipment designed for data centers built around Nvidia’s AI factory platform. LG Electronics was selected in the cooling distribution unit category, while LG Energy Solution was named for battery energy storage systems.
The qualification is not a supply contract, but means the LG products meet Nvidia’s stated requirements for its DSX platform. LG Electronics said it plans to use the approval to expand sales of its liquid-cooling systems to global Big Tech customers.
The development builds on an existing relationship between the two groups: LG and Nvidia announced cooperation on AI factory infrastructure in June, followed by an August memorandum of understanding between Koo and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang covering robotics, AI factories and mobility.
For LG, the business case is to bring together capabilities that sit in different parts of the group. LG Electronics provides cooling equipment, LG Energy Solution supplies energy storage, while LG CNS and LG Uplus contribute data-center and IT capabilities. The combination gives LG a route into the infrastructure surrounding AI computing rather than the processors themselves.
An official at LG Corp., the group’s holding company, said the Microsoft partnership took shape through months of discussions following last year’s Redmond showcase.
“The partnership developed through several months of working-level talks and exchanges between senior executives after the two companies began discussing strategic cooperation in earnest at Microsoft headquarters last December,” the official said.
By Moon Joon-hyun (mjh@heraldcorp.com)
