Abstract:
SK Hynix held a groundbreaking ceremony for its advanced memory chip packaging factory in Indiana on Thursday, marking progress in the U.S. government's actions to rebuild domestic supply chains and manufacturing capabilities in strategically important industries. With an investment of more than US$4 billion, the 133.5-acre facility in West Lafayette will become SK Hynix's first high-bandwidth memory (HBM) packaging base in the United States.
CEO Kwak Noh-Jung said at the event that the factory's clean room is expected to be opened by October 2028, and the next generation HBM is scheduled to begin mass production in the second half of 2029. When fully operational, the base will become an important HBM hub, employing approximately 1,000 people.
HBM is an integral part of the global AI hardware boom, because it is required to assemble NVIDIA's most advanced AI acceleration systems. This has also propelled SK Hynix to become South Korea's second-highest market value company, second only to Samsung Electronics, which also benefited from the surge in demand for HBM and other storage products.
Kwak said at the event that the factory will help strengthen the domestic AI chip supply chain in the United States, which Washington considers critical to the economy and national security.
SK Hynix said that the wafers produced by the company in South Korea will be shipped to Indiana for packaging and testing before being supplied to U.S. customers.
The project is expected to create approximately 7,000 direct and indirect jobs through construction, operation and related industries. SK Hynix also signed an agreement with nearby Purdue University to cooperate in HBM, system integration and advanced packaging research. The project will also build an advanced packaging R&D test platform next to the production line.
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