SK Hynix Invests $38.1 Billion in New Memory Chip Plants Amid AI-Driven Demand Surge

SK Hynix said on Friday it will invest 54 trillion Korean won ($38.1 billion) to build two new memory chip manufacturing plants, as demand for the components, which are key to AI, continues to grow.

The South Korean tech giant announced a 35.2 trillion won investment in a fabrication plant, or fab, in Yongin called "Y2," with 19.1 trillion won earmarked for a facility in Cheongju called "M17."

It comes amid a surge in memory prices driven by a shortage of supply and huge demand from companies building AI infrastructure like data centers and chip firms such as Nvidia, which require large amounts of high-bandwidth memory (HBM).

The surge in memory prices has led to the biggest producers of the product — SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron — seeing a massive rally in their share prices as investors bet the supply imbalance will persist for some time.

SK Hynix is facing increasing competition from Samsung, which has reclaimed the number one spot by market share in the dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, market in the second quarter, according to Counterpoint Research. DRAM is a type of memory that is in particularly high demand.

"This has prompted SK Hynix to inject fresh capex to expand its footprint. In the near term, this won't alter SK Hynix's output but is built for 2029 and beyond," Neil Shah, vice president of research and co-founder of Counterpoint Research, told CNBC.

"Looking at the broader market, multi-vendor expansions from Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, and CXMT will expand global supply significantly through 2028. Yet with demand growing even faster than planned capacity, memory prices are unlikely to soften before the end of 2028."

Yongin Y2 is the second of four fabs SK Hynix has planned in the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster. The company said it will serve as a production base for DRAM.

SK Hynix will break ground on construction in July 2027, with the opening of its first cleanroom in June 2029 to produce HBM and other next-generation DRAM products. A cleanroom is a controlled environment, which is key for chip manufacturing.

SK Hynix said the Cheongju facility will produce NAND memory, a product for which "demand is surging rapidly," according to the company.

The Cheongju M17 fab will break ground in February 2027 with the first cleanroom opening in December 2028.

"In the AI era, technological competitiveness alone is not enough and the ability to supply the required volume at the exact moment customers need it is the ultimate competitive advantage," SK Hynix said in a press release.

"We reached this investment decision after a thorough review of market demand."

The investments form the next tranche of the company's "master plan," announced last year, which will see SK Hynix invest 600 trillion won in the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster and 100 trillion won to expand its Cheongju production base.