SK Telecom has applied digital twins to semiconductor fabs run by SK hynix, using NVIDIA Omniverse libraries to recreate factories and equipment in virtual environments. Engineers can simulate and verify the impact of process changes and equipment layout adjustments in advance. SK Telecom completed a proof of concept for the work in 2025, and the project is part of SK hynix's plan to build an "Autonomous Fab" by 2030.
How it works
The platform renders large-scale OpenUSD-based 3D scenes of the fab. SK Telecom is integrating NVIDIA Omniverse libraries to improve scene loading speed, execution performance, and GPU and memory efficiency. It has also developed "Agentic Digital Twin Modeling" with the NVIDIA Agent Toolkit, which automates and intelligently processes data such as equipment and spatial structures at manufacturing sites for the digital twin environment.
Rollout and next steps
- SK Telecom plans to commercialize the technology in phases, in line with SK hynix's roadmap to 2030.
- Chinese-language reporting dated 23 October 2026 says SK Telecom has formed a dedicated task force for AI business cooperation with SK hynix's semiconductor fabs.
- The fab digital twin was featured in NVIDIA's GTC Taipei keynote on 1 June 2026, where SK Telecom was introduced as a major partner in NVIDIA's manufacturing physical AI initiative.
SK Telecom's Head of Physical AI says the collaboration validated that manufacturing digital twins can evolve beyond simple 3D visualization into a physical AI platform for understanding and optimizing large-scale 3D manufacturing data. NVIDIA's head of industrial digital twins says SK Telecom has shown a high level of technical capability applying and validating Omniverse libraries and the Agent Toolkit in real-world industrial settings.
