SK hynix to spend $13 billion on the world's largest HBM memory assembly plant amid the worst shortage on record
SK hynix expands U.S. presence with new Bellevue, Seattle office in efforts to get closer to its largest customers
SK hynix is building an advanced packaging facility in West Lafayette, Indiana , but doesn’t actually fabricate memory in the U.S. It’s quite possible that this latest AI investment initiative may be a way to claim that it plans to produce memory inside America, or at least to cement its interest in American investment.
If either Samsung or SK hynix were to be hit with trade restrictions, but Micron was exempt, the effect on the memory industry would be dramatic to say the least.
SK hynix may well find it easy to find new investment opportunities for its AI Company once it’s established. It said in its announcement that it will leverage its “unparalleled chip technologies, such as HBM,” to help it deliver “optimized AI systems for its customers.” That sounds an awful lot like gaining SK hynix investment could give a faster pipeline to access the latest HBM technologies.
In an environment where critical components and material shortages are bottlenecks to AI growth, having the backing of one of only three key memory producers in the world could be hugely beneficial.
SK hynix is making hay while the sun shines, too. It just posted forecast-beating profits in the recent quarter, increasing 137% year on year. That’s off the back of similarly impressive results this time last year, too . It’s using this new financial muscle to invest $13 billion in a new chip packaging plant in South Korea.
This latest $10 billion AI Company fund is just one more example of that. Like Nvidia and many other top tech companies, SK hynix is investing in the future of AI to give its current trajectory as long a tail as possible before any eventual contraction curtails it.
Jon Martindale is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware. For the past 20 years, he's been writing about PC components, emerging technologies, and the latest software advances. His deep and broad journalistic experience gives him unique insights into the most exciting technology trends of today and tomorrow. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-13/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Jon Martindale Freelance Writer Jon Martindale is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware. For the past 20 years, he's been writing about PC components, emerging technologies, and the latest software advances. His deep and broad journalistic experience gives him unique insights into the most exciting technology trends of today and tomorrow.
Key considerations
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/sk-hynix-invests-usd10-billion-in-creating-a-u-s-based-ai-solutions-company-company-to-restructure-california-based-solidigm-enterprise-ssd-brand-to-bolster-american-investments#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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