SK Hynix approves $38.1 billion capital investment in two new semiconductor fabrication plants dedicated to AI memory supply.

SK hynix's board of directors has approved a 54.3 trillion won investment (approximately $38.1 billion) to construct two new fabrication plants in South Korea, with production specifically targeting memory for next-generation AI accelerators and enterprise servers.

The investment will be split between two facilities. Yongin Y2, allocated $24.9 billion, will serve as a specialized DRAM mega-factory spanning 1.13 million square meters. Construction is scheduled to begin in July 2027, with the first cleanroom operational by June 2029, producing HBM (high-bandwidth memory) and other next-generation DRAM products. The second facility, Cheongju M17, will receive $13.2 billion and focus on NAND flash memory for enterprise SSD storage. This fab's construction will start in February 2027, with the first cleanroom coming online by December 2028.

SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung previously stated that 2027 would represent the worst year in the industry's history from a supply perspective. The company positions this $38.1 billion commitment as a structural response to the transformation of memory into core infrastructure that determines AI performance itself.

SK hynix's dual expansion strategy addresses demand across both memory tiers. According to Omdia data cited by the company, both DRAM and NAND demand are projected to maintain a compound annual growth rate of 19 percent through 2030. By ramping production of fast memory for running AI models and high-capacity storage for training them simultaneously, the company aims to capture demand across the AI infrastructure supply chain.