SK Hynix to invest $38 billion in two new memory chip factories
South Korea's SK Hynix will spend 54 trillion won, roughly $38.1 billion, to build two new DRAM and NAND facilities as it races to meet surging memory demand driven by the AI data center boom.
SK Hynix, the world's second-largest maker of RAM and NAND chips behind Samsung, has announced a 54 trillion won (about $38.1 billion) investment to construct two new memory chip plants in South Korea. The company says the expansion is needed to keep up with explosive demand for memory products fueled by the growth of AI data centers.
Two plants, two cities
According to SK Hynix officials, the first cleanroom could begin production as early as June 2029. Of the total investment, 35.2 trillion won (around $24.9 billion) will go toward a fabrication plant in Yongin dedicated to producing HBM and other DRAM chips, while 19.1 trillion won (about $13.2 billion) will fund a facility in Cheongju focused on NAND storage chip manufacturing. A company official said the decision followed a thorough review of market demand and was made to capture opportunities aligned with the pace of market growth.
Prices unlikely to ease soon
Demand for AI-related memory chips has already driven prices sharply higher, generating substantial profits for companies including Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, while also pushing up costs for consumer devices such as smartphones, gaming consoles and PCs. Because the new capacity won't come online for several years, relief for consumers isn't expected anytime soon. Counterpoint Research analyst Neil Shah told CNBC that memory prices are unlikely to soften before the end of 2028, since demand continues to outpace planned capacity growth. Manufacturers are also increasingly steering their output toward data center customers to maximize profitability — Micron has gone as far as abandoning the consumer memory market entirely to focus solely on AI-related products.
