SK하이닉스는 차세대 메모리 제품의 핵심 생산 기지로 지정될 신규 제조 시설 설립을 위해 40억 달러를 투자하기로 확인했다.

SK hynix is significantly expanding its U.S. footprint with a new $4 billion factory in Indiana, which CEO Kwak Noh-Jung has designated as a key production base to meet intensifying global demand for artificial intelligence chips. By 2030, the facility will establish Indiana as a “key HBM [high-bandwidth memory] production base in America.” During the groundbreaking ceremony, Noh-Jung emphasized the critical global shortage of HBM driven by surging AI adoption. “We will provide our customers with a new source of made-in-US HBM, while strengthening the US semiconductor supply chain and contributing to national and economic security,” Noh-Jung says.

As the current leader in HBM market share, SK hynix is executing a massive $720 billion global expansion, with the majority of capital directed toward South Korea. There, the company is constructing the world’s largest semiconductor fabrication plant campus, with production scheduled to begin in February next year. While the Indiana facility will focus on packaging—specifically stacking and connecting memory chips rather than front-end manufacturing—the chips themselves will be manufactured in South Korea and China before being shipped to Indiana for final assembly.

Despite packaging being a vital stage in chipmaking, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has previously urged SK hynix to establish more front-end memory fabrication plants domestically. Addressing potential future U.S. expansions, Noh-Jung states the company is seeking the optimal location and remains “open to every site or every country.” He adds that the firm “will continue to expand its investment and cooperation in America.” Chey Tae-won, CEO of parent company SK Group, echoes this sentiment, noting that executives have been evaluating locations for several weeks. “I’m willing to do it, but the problem is that I really have to find the right place,” he says.

Financially, SK hynix continues to capitalize on the AI boom. The South Korean-listed tech giant recently completed a Nasdaq listing that raised $26.5 billion, marking the largest foreign offering on U.S. markets. Its market capitalization has surged approximately sevenfold over the past year, surpassing $1 trillion. Looking ahead, SK hynix projects its total U.S. investments and assets will exceed $45 billion by 2030. This figure encompasses a forthcoming AI platform and Solidigm, the storage solutions subsidiary formed when SK hynix acquired Intel’s NAND business for $9 billion in 2020.

To support the Indiana project, initially announced in 2024, SK hynix will receive up to $458 million in federal funding through the CHIPS and Science Act, alongside a state incentive package valued at up to $712 million—the second-largest in Indiana’s history. The facility will house both fabrication capabilities and research and development centers, enabling top AI customers to collaborate directly with SK hynix engineers on next-generation memory development. Additionally, as part of a broader $500 billion agreement between NVIDIA and SK Group, NVIDIA has committed to co-developing memory with SK hynix. NVIDIA currently purchases SK hynix’s HBM3E chips to power its high-performance AI GPUs.

The Indiana plant is expected to generate approximately 1,000 direct jobs, along with an additional 6,000 positions tied to construction and ongoing business operations. Governor Mike Braun described the groundbreaking as the start of the “biggest development project in Indiana’s history” and noted it represents the “first of its kind in the country.”

SK hynix’s ecosystem extends across major technology leaders. Apple sources mobile DRAM and NAND flash memory from the company to equip its iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers under CEO Tim Cook in Cupertino, California. TSMC, led by CEO C.C. Wei in Hsinchu, Taiwan, has partnered with SK hynix to co-develop and integrate next-generation HBM4 memory modules utilizing advanced chip packaging technologies. Dell Technologies, headquartered in Round Rock, Texas under CEO Michael Dell, collaborates with SK hynix to source enterprise solid-state drives and server DRAM for its data-center infrastructure. NVIDIA, operating out of Santa Clara, California under CEO Jensen Huang, serves as a major partner, purchasing SK hynix’s HBM3E chips to power its AI GPUs and committing to co-develop memory as part of a $500 billion deal with SK Group.