May 03, 2024

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SK hynix`s DDR5 DRAM (SK hynix)

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix said Thursday it will invest $3.87 billion to build an advanced packaging fabrication and R&D facility in the United States amid intensifying competition in the high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) memory semiconductor sector.

The new facility, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, will begin mass-producing AI memory products, including next-generation high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, in the second half of 2028, SK hynix said.

It marks the South Korean tech giant's first overseas facility for HBM products.

The company said it will also cooperate with local institutions, including Purdue University, to drive research and development efforts in semiconductor technology.

"The project, the first of its kind in the United States, is expected to drive innovation in the nation's AI supply chain, while bringing more than a thousand new jobs to the region," SK hynix said in a statement.

The chipmaker said it has selected Indiana for its first US packaging facility due to the state's robust manufacturing infrastructure, thriving R&D ecosystem and skilled workforce, particularly the talent pool at Purdue University.

HBM chips, integral components used for AI computing, have garnered increasing attention with the rise of applications such as generative AI, exemplified by models like ChatGPT.

Last month, SK hynix, considered a leader in the HBM industry, began mass production of the latest fifth-generation HBM3E chips, most of which are shipped to US AI chip giant Nvidia.

"We are excited to become the first in the industry to build a state-of-the-art advanced packaging facility for AI products in the United States that will help strengthen supply chain resilience and develop a local semiconductor ecosystem," SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung said during a signing ceremony held at Purdue University on Wednesday (US time).

Meanwhile, SK hynix said it will proceed with its investment plans in South Korea as scheduled.

As part of the 120 trillion-won ($88.9 billion) project to build a semiconductor cluster in Yongin on the southern outskirts of Seoul, the company plans to break ground on the first fab in March of 2025 and complete it by 2027.

It will also build a mini fab, a facility with equipment for 300mm wafer processing, to test semiconductor materials, components and equipment. (Yonhap)