November 25, 2024

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SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung speaks during a press conference in Las Vegas on Monday, a day before the official opening of the CES 2024 trade show. (SK hynix)

LAS VEGAS -- SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, on Monday unveiled its ambitious goal of hitting 200 trillion won ($150 billion) in market cap in the next three years, consolidating its leadership in the burgeoning era of artificial intelligence.

“Currently, our market cap stands at about 100 trillion won. In the next three years, we aim to reach 200 trillion won,” SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung said during the company’s first-ever press conference held at the CES tech show in Las Vegas, a day before its official opening.

He also hinted at a strategic shift in production, possibly ending months of production cuts of NAND and DRAM memory products on weak demand.

“Amid some signs of recovery in DRAM, we will focus on producing more chips in high demand while adjusting production for others,” he said. “For NAND, the market sentiment seems to have hit the bottom. We could adjust production plans in the coming months.”

At the press event, titled “Memory, The Power of AI,” SK hynix showed confidence in securing its competitive edge in the generative AI era, when demands for memory chips are surging to support high-performance computing and futuristic AI features.

“As generative AI becomes more common, the importance of memory chips is expected to increase,” the CEO said. “We’re leading the ‘Memory Centric AI Everywhere’ era by providing products that are the world's best technology to the ICT industry.”

The CEO said the firm’s “Memory Centric” future vision will be highlighted at the company’s exhibition during CES 2024.

One of the key items is SK’s signature high bandwidth memory products, including its latest fifth-generation HBM3E, an advanced chip for high-performance computing for AI technologies that has been recognized as the best-performing memory product on the market.

According to Kwak, customers’ memory requirements are diversifying in line with rapidly evolving AI systems. As a way to fulfill their demand, SK hynix is introducing a “Customer Memory Platform,” which can provide tailored AI memory solutions for each customer, he said.

SK hynix anticipated turning profit in the first quarter this year after struggling with months of operating losses due to the protracted economic slowdown and falling chip prices.

In its third-quarter earnings call last year, the company said that it had secured pre-orders for products, including its highly customizable HBM3E chips, up for this year as well.

SK hynix has been one of the key exhibitors at the world’s largest tech show. But it was the first time for it to hold a separate press conference since it was merged into SK Group, the nation’s second-largest conglomerate, in 2012.

By Jie Ye-eun (yeeun@heraldcorp.com)

Korea Herald Correspondent