(From left) SK Telecom CEO Jung Jai-hun, NTT CEO Akira Shimada, founding managing partner at Walden Catalyst Ventures Young Sohn, and Chunghwa Telecom President Lin Rong-Shy pose during a signing ceremony for the IOWN AI Fund in Tokyo on Wednesday. (SK Telecom) SK Telecom said Wednesday it would team up with Japan’s NTT and Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom to launch a $500 million artificial intelligence investment fund focused on startups in data centers, semiconductors, cloud infrastructure and AI services.The three telecom companies announced the plan at a joint press conference at NTT’s headquarters in Tokyo. The fund, called the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network AI Fund, will be managed by Catalight Capital, a new fund management firm to be set up with operations in Silicon Valley and East Asia.The fund will invest in companies developing technologies for AI data centers, including power-efficiency solutions and liquid cooling, as well as AI chips such as accelerators, graphics processing units and neural processing units. It will also target distributed cloud systems, optical communications, AI software for inference optimization and AI applications in the health care, manufacturing and finance sectors.The fund will look for investment opportunities in North America, Asia and Europe.SK Telecom said the three companies would also help portfolio firms test their technologies, improve services and find customers.The first round of fundraising is expected to close soon before the fund is officially launched. NTT said about 20 global companies, including Sony and Toshiba, have expressed interest in joining as investors. SK hynix is also preparing to participate, according to SK Telecom.The fund could be launched by June, after the first round of fundraising closes, according to SK Telecom. The company added that the fund may continue to grow through the end of the year if more investors decide to participate.NTT said about 20 global companies, including Sony and Toshiba, have expressed interest in joining as investors. SK hynix is also preparing to participate, according to SK Telecom.SK Telecom said it plans to build on the fund to expand cooperation with Japanese partners in AI data centers, corporate AI services and consumer AI businesses.