SK hynix has officially broken ground on a $4 billion high-bandwidth memory fabrication facility in Indiana.
South Korean chipmaker SK hynix broke ground on Aug. 28 on a more than $4 billion advanced packaging facility in Indiana, establishing its first U.S. production base for next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM). The company announced Friday that the groundbreaking ceremony took place Thursday at Purdue University’s Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Advanced packaging is a semiconductor back-end process that combines multiple chips into a single package or stacks them vertically to improve performance as conventional chip miniaturization approaches its physical limits. The new facility will focus specifically on advanced packaging for artificial intelligence memory.
The ceremony was attended by Indiana Governor Mike Braun, U.S. Senator Todd Young, Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, and Robert Abrams, chairman of the Korea-US Alliance Foundation. Also present were South Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha, SK Group Vice Chairmen Yu Jeong-joon and Lee Hyung-hee, and SK hynix Chief Executive Kwak Noh-Jung.
SK hynix plans to complete the plant’s cleanroom by October 2028 and begin mass production of next-generation HBM products in the second half of 2029. Once fully operational, the facility is expected to develop into a major U.S. HBM production hub employing about 1,000 workers. It will serve as the company’s first HBM manufacturing base in the United States and will operate in close integration with SK hynix’s existing facilities in South Korea.
Under the planned workflow, advanced wafers produced in South Korea will be shipped to Indiana for advanced packaging and testing. The resulting “Made in USA” HBM products will then be supplied to U.S. customers. SK hynix stated that the investment is expected to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor supply chain while contributing to national security and economic growth.
According to the company, more than 100 materials, components, and equipment suppliers are considering expanding into the West Lafayette area. Construction and operation of the plant, together with activities by U.S. partner companies, are expected to create about 7,000 direct and indirect jobs.
In parallel with the facility’s development, SK hynix signed a memorandum of understanding with Purdue University for research and development cooperation in advanced packaging. Both sides plan to jointly research next-generation system integration and advanced packaging technologies, including those used in HBM. Additionally, SK hynix plans to expand cooperation with universities and research institutions across the U.S. Midwest to train and recruit highly skilled workers.
“Today marks the beginning of a new future for AI that the United States and SK hynix will build together,” Kwak said. He described the United States as the center of AI innovation, bringing together leading customers, research capabilities and a strong industrial ecosystem. “The Indiana fab will become the first base to provide 'Made in USA' HBM,” Kwak said. “We will expand investment and cooperation in the United States, grow together and become the most trusted partner in building the future of American AI.”
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260828010009653